


The Rise of Merlin

by Wolfhaven95



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Female Merlin (Merlin), Love not at first sight, Magic Revealed, Once and Future King, Once and Future Queen, at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2020-07-20 08:00:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 88,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19988764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfhaven95/pseuds/Wolfhaven95
Summary: What if the legends were wrong? What if Merlin was in fact born a girl? What if instead of falling for Guinevere, the Once and Future King falls for his beautiful sorceress. For the first time since it's telling, the story of Camelot and her people are once again retold, however, it's not the same tale that we all know and love. Not even legends can withhold the curse of time and as stories are retold much of the truth is lost.When Merlin first arrived in Camelot, she had high hopes that it would be the place where she would finally find her destiny. The place where she would find her purpose. What she hadn't excepted was to be told that her so called destiny was none other than the prince of Camelot, Arthur Pendragon. Is it too late to flee back to Ealdor?Follow along as one of the greatest untold stories of Camelot and her favorite subjects are brought to life once more. Follow the untold story of the Once and Future Queen: Merlin.





	1. THE DRAGON'S CALL (1)

**Author's Note:**

> I am just going to point out that as the story goes on a lot of the stuff might not be historically accurate. You don't really have to point them out (unless you really want to), but I just wanted to let you know that I'm aware of the inaccuracies. I just figured it's not that big of deal since the show is pretty inaccurate in some places and this is a work of fiction. That being said I hope you enjoy the story :) 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or anything that has to do with the show.

**_No young woman, no matter how great, can know her destiny. She cannot glimpse her part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, she must live and learn. And so it will be for the young witch arriving at the gates of Camelot. A girl that will, in time, mother the legend. Her name: Merlin._ **

_***_

In the distance Merlin could just make out the rising towers of Camelot and a feeling of awe overcame her as she looked at the beautiful city. She had of course heard the stories about Camelot and about what they did to her kind, yet here she was making her way closer to the place she should be running away from. It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway, not that she really minded. Merlin had always dreamed of going to Camelot, ever since she was a little girl and heard tales of the great city. In the end it had been her mother who had made the final choice for Merlin, stating that it would be safer for her there. Merlin didn't understand how she could be safer in the place that would be happy to see her head separated from her body, but like always Merlin didn't go against her mother's wishes, and she didn't really want to, which was why she was happily making her way through the gates of Camelot.

Despite her slight trepidation over the whole situation, Merlin found herself filled with excitement as she made her way through the lower town, looking at all the different stalls and people walking about, or running she noted as she turned to watch two boys run past her. Even walking past a couple of Camelot's finest knights did nothing to lower her excitement, in fact, she was overfilled with it at the sight of them. She had heard tales about the knights of Camelot from travelers that had passed through Ealdor and each one had spoken about their greatness and bravery.

Overwhelmed with happiness and awe that she was finally in Camelot, Merlin made her way through the final gate that led her into the castle's courtyard only to come across what seemed to be some kind of event. As she walked closer to the gathering crowd the sounds of drums beating filled the air. Merlin didn't understand what was happening, and questioned whether she was witnessing her first Camelot celebration. Overjoyed with the idea that she was about to see one of Camelot's famous gatherings that she had heard so much about, Merlin got closer to the crowd so she could watch. However, once she saw the scaffold in the middle of the crowd a feeling of dread ran through her. It only got worse as the beating drums grew louder while two guards brought out what she assumed was a prisoner. As the guards made their way onto the scaffold with the prisoner someone from above the crowd spoke causing everyone to divert their attention to the person standing on the balcony of the grand castle. A person that Merlin fearfully knew to be the king of Camelot, King Uther Pendragon.

While Merlin came to her realization, the king addressed the crowd. "Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death."

It didn't take long for Merlin to understand what was happening in front of her. She watched as the guards placed the Collins man onto the chopping block and could only feel disgust and fear at the sight. This could happen to her she realized, and everything became even more clearer to her. Along with tales of brave knights, she had also been told stories about what was done to magic users in Camelot, and now here she was about to become a witness to the execution of one of her kind. Merlin had to get away from here. It was the only thought that crossed her mind as she watched the proceedings occurring in front of her. No longer did Merlin feel the excitement that she had been filled with since she started her journey to Camelot. Instead she could only picture herself being put on that scaffold someday and the thought terrified her.

"I pride myself as a fair and just king," the king continued, while Merlin scoffed at the thought. There was nothing fair or just about this. "But for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." With that King Uther rose his hand over his head before letting it fall to his side. Receiving the message from his king, the executioner lowered his ax onto Thomas Collins's neck and the crowd gasped while Merlin recoiled at the sight, covering her mouth when Collins's head rolled down from the platform.

Unsurprisingly, Uther continued his speech to the crowd watching, but Merlin didn't look up, still in shock after what she had just seen. "When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin."

Merlin frowned at the king's words, not understanding why anyone would want to celebrate after the execution they had just witnessed, and she couldn't help but wonder if the people of Camelot had just become so used to it that they were no longer affected by it. Looking around nervously, Merlin turned to leave, but then she heard wailing coming from the front of the crowd and out of curiosity she looked back to see who it was. As the people near the wailing parted to the side an old woman made her way to the middle and addressed the king.

"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic!" She wailed and glared at King Uther with hatred in her eyes, and Merlin didn't know whether she should be worried for the old woman or the king. "It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son." As she spoke tears ran down her face, and her voice shook with her anger and grief. A small part of Merlin understood the old lady's need for revenge, but that didn't mean that she agreed with it. In the end it didn't accomplish anything.

"Seize her!" King Uther demanded of the guards, and Merlin was a bit surprised that he had allowed the old woman to make her threats.

Before the guards could even reach the woman, the sorceress grabbed the amulet that was around her neck and began chanting a spell that Merlin couldn't make out, but she could feel the power coming off of her from where she stood watching. People around her shrieked and pushed each other in order to get away from the old woman, and Merlin stumbled back as people panicked while King Uther screamed out orders to his guards. However, before anything could be done the old sorceress vanished as gusts of wind surrounded her.

Once the old woman disappeared everyone began to disperse as if nothing had happened. The only one who seemed to still be affected was Merlin, who was still watching the spot where the old sorceress had just disappeared from. This was not how she wanted to spend her first day in Camelot, she thought to herself as she set out to find the physician's quarters. After asking around she was eventually able to narrow it down to one part of the castle, so after a bit of wandering she finally made it to where she had been directed to.

Entering the castle, Merlin came across two guards standing in front of an entryway. Not knowing where to go from there she decided that asking one of the guards would probably be a good idea, even if she was a bit hesitant due to the fact that they didn't exactly look friendly to her.

Going up to one of the guards, Merlin asked, "Where would I find Gaius, the court physician?"

The guard pointed behind him. "First door on your right," he grunted before facing forward again. With a quick thank you, Merlin made her way up the steps and found the mentioned door. Opening it she walked up another flight of steps and saw a sign stating _Court Physician._ Happy that she had found the place, Merlin continued up the stairs until she got to the single door at the top.

Finding the door ajar, Merlin made her way into the room while calling out. "Hello? Gaius? Are you here?" When no one responded she hesitantly made her way further into the room and looked around. The room wasn't exactly messy, but every available space was covered in potions that she didn't recognize and herbs that were more familiar to her. Out of everything that caught her eye, the books and scrolls on the table were even more interesting to her as she had never seen so many in a single place. It wasn't a common sight in her small village as not many of the villagers could read and write anyway. The only books she ever saw were those carried by traveling merchants. Finding herself curious, Merlin walked closer to one of the tables, intending to look through one of the big volumes, and looked around the room to make sure that no one was watching. She jumped in surprise when she noticed someone standing on the bookshelf stairs.

Calming her beating heart, Merlin took a step towards him, and assuming that it was who she was looking for, she called out to the old man. "Gaius?"

At the sound of her voice, Gaius turned to face her and tripped backwards onto the railing causing it to break. Merlin gasped in shock and watched as the man tumbled down towards the floor. Letting her instincts take over, Merlin felt her magic run through her as time slowed down around her. Looking around her in desperation, her eyes landed on a bed on the other side of the room, and with another flash of her eyes she moved the bed directly under the physician. Making sure that everything was in place, Merlin let time go back to normal and covered her eyes just as Gaius landed on the bed. Hearing a thump and a sudden crash, Merlin couldn't help but wince at the sound. That must have hurt, she thought while peeking through her fingers.

"Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead," she whispered, while a grimace crossed over her youthful face.

She let out a small yelp when the old physician sat up to face her and dropped her hands to her chest in shock. Oh thank the Triple Goddess, he's alive. Unfortunately for her, her relief that she hadn't just killed the old physician was short lived.

"What did you just do?" Gaius questioned as he got off the bed.

"I-" Merlin wasn't ready for the questioning since she was still trying to get over the fright she just had.

Losing his patience, the physician demanded Merlin to tell him what she had just done. Remembering that she had just watched a magic-user be executed, she felt an intense fear run through her.

"I- I didn't, I don't know what- what you mean," Merlin responded. She could barely make out what she was saying as all the blood in her body seemed to be rushing through her head. She should probably sit down or something before she collapsed, she thought.

Gaius didn't seem to hear her anyway, and instead he looked at her strangely before looking wildly around the room as if he were searching for something. "Foolish...If anyone had seen..." he muttered as he looked to where he had fallen onto the bed.

"No, that-that wasn't me. I don't even know _what_ that was. Honest, I- I just walked in and-and," Merlin tried, wishing the whole situation would just end, preferably with her head intact.

Gaius only interrupted her, seemingly unimpressed with her shoddy explanation. "I know what it was!" he shouted, causing her heart to stop at his words. This probably isn't doing any good for her health, she thought as it became harder to breathe. The memory of Thomas Collins's head being chopped off kept flashing through her head and she didn't think her legs would be able to hold her weight for long.

"-where you learned how to do it!" Merlin realized that Gaius was still talking and she tried to remember what he was asking. But it didn't matter because it was clear that Gaius wasn't listening to her.

"Where did you study?" he asked, getting closer to Merlin and she took a step back in order to distance herself from him.

"Erm...I-" Merlin didn't know what to say as she watched the old man walk closer to her.

"Answer me!" Gaius yelled in frustration and Merlin flinched at the sound.

"I've never studied magic or been taught," she cried out, looking anywhere but at the physician.

"Are you lying to me, girl?" he asked suspiciously.

"No! No, I'm-" she started, before stopping at Gaius's glare.

"What do you want me to say?" she questioned exasperatedly and crossed her arms in frustration.

"The truth!" Merlin stared at the man in disbelief. That's what she's been doing, what else does he want her to say?

In irritation she rolled her eyes and blurted out, "I was born like this!"

"That's impossible!" Gaius turned away as if he was already done with their conversation before he turned back to her with a confused look on his face. "Who are you?" he asked.

The sudden change in questioning threw Merlin off and she gave the physician a confused look before taking off her pack and reached inside. "I have this letter that my mother told me to give to you. She said it will explain everything to you." She handed over the letter but Gaius only stared at it.

"I don't have my glasses," he stated.

Feeling lost, Merlin set the letter down on the table and said, "Oh, erm...I'm Merlin."

Recognition flashed through Gaius's eyes as he asked, "Hunith's daughter?"

Merlin hesitantly smiled as she answered "yes!" At least they were finally getting somewhere that didn't involve her magic.

"But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday!"

Merlin lost her smile as she looked at Gaius in confusion. She started to question whether the old physician was even completely there. Wondering if this was going to be a regular occurrence Merlin said, "It is Wednesday."

Gaius only paused for a second to confirm that it was in fact Wednesday before pointing towards a door that was situated at the back of the room. "You can put your bag in there. That'll be your room for as long as you stay here."

The thought of having her own room excited Merlin as she had never had her own room in Ealdor. Wanting to see her new room, Merlin rushed towards the door before she was hit with a realization. Her magic. She quickly turned around to face Gaius while pointing up at the bookshelf. "You- you won't say anything about," she started to ask. She really hoped that he wouldn't tell anyone, and a small part of her knew that he wouldn't, because then he wouldn't have bothered giving her a place to stay. That didn't stop the doubt from making itself known to her.

Her fears where quickly put to rest, however, when Gaius shook his head at her and stated simply "no." With a smile threatening to overtake her face, Merlin turned back to resume her earlier task of seeing her room, but before she could do more than open the door, Gaius stopped her and thanked her for saving his life. With a nod and a hesitant smile Merlin turned back towards the door, and made her way into her bedchamber.

Closing the door behind her, she let out a small squeal of excitement as she took in the dimly lit room. It was perfect. She even had a bed that she didn't have to share with her mother, not that she minded sharing with her. Noticing the candles on one of the tables, Merlin felt her magic flow through her as the candles lit up with a flash of her eyes. As she set down her bag on the bed and sat down, she thought about the ease in which she could use her magic. It was all instinctive to her and if she were being completely honest with herself, a part of her feared it. Gaius hadn't been the first to tell her that she was impossible. She shouldn't have been born with magic, yet here she was. Living proof that it _could_ be possible.

She wasn't lying when she had told Gaius that she had never learned or been taught magic, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Merlin had met her fair share of magic-users growing up. With her town being just at the border of Camelot and Essetir, Ealdor had many visitors that passed through, and she had learned quickly that all magic-users could sense their kind, more so if they were untrained. The first thing Merlin was told was that if she wanted to live past her childhood, she had to learn to hide her aura that gave her away as a sorceress. By doing so other magic-users wouldn't be able to sense her unless she lost control. The only problem with that was that nobody had wanted to teach her. It wasn't until an old druid told her about the Great Purge that she came to realize why every magic-user she came across refused to teach her anything.

Merlin had power. That much she knew. She also realized early on that if she wanted to live for a long time than she would have to gain control of her magic. So she set out to learn how to control her magic by herself. It was slow going because she didn't know anything. She could feel her magic flowing through her in a way that many sorcerers could not. Her magic was a part of her and because of that she was impossible. She could do magic even though she had never learned a single spell and she could only imagine how much more power she would gain if she could do magic outside of what she could do instinctively.

Looking towards the lit candles, Merlin wondered whether there would ever come a time where she could freely use her magic without fearing for her life. A time where people wouldn't look at her and think of her as another monster that needed to be put down. Merlin lived for that day to come, but she knew that it wasn't possible in Camelot.

Looking around the room, she noticed a closed window high on the wall. Wishing to leave her depressing thoughts, Merlin stood from her bed and made her way to it and opened it and stared in awe at the sight in front of her. Night had fallen and the full moon shone down on the city of Camelot. It was a beautiful sight and Merlin knew in that moment that this was where she belonged. For the time being, as she looked out towards all of Camelot, it didn't matter that not far from where she stood there was a king that would be happy to see her dead if he ever knew what she was. She knew deep down that this was where she would find her purpose, her destiny, and she couldn't wait to see what it would bring her. 


	2. THE DRAGON'S CALL (2)

_Merlin...Merlin..._

Merlin groaned and pulled her thin blanket over her head as light shone in from the window. She had chosen to leave the window slightly open last night in order to let fresh air come in and now she was regretting her decision. Outside her bedchamber she could hear Gaius moving around, and she knew that it was time for her to get up for the day. With a huff, Merlin threw off her blanket and sat up to stretch. That was one of the best sleeps that she had ever had and she found herself reluctant to get up.

With one last stretch she got off her bed and grabbed her bag from where she had thrown it the night before. She pulled the bag close to her and pulled out her favorite blue dress. She was happy that she could finally wear her dress again as she hadn't been able to during her journey to Camelot. It wouldn't have been convenient or safe as she was a girl by herself and a dress would have drawn too much attention on the road. Releasing her hair from it's braid she ran her fingers through her dark hair to undo any knots and winced when she did. She should have done it last night, but she had been too tired to do anything other than fall on her bed and pass out.

Searching through her bag, Merlin found her red ribbon at the bottom and pulled it out. She has had the ribbon for years now and it showed in the frayed edges. The ribbon was made of silk and it was probably one of the most expensive things that she owned. A merchant that had regularly passed through Ealdor had given it to her one day after she had mentioned how beautiful it was. She's worn it ever since, but had to hide it in her bag on her way to Camelot because she didn't want to risk losing it or having it stolen on the off chance that she ran into anyone.

"Merlin," Gaius called from the other room.

Gripping her ribbon in her hand, she called out, "I'm coming."

She turned towards the door, and after shoving her bag into the wardrobe, she made her way down the steps and into the physician's chambers where Gaius was preparing breakfast for them.

"Morning, Gaius," she said. Quickly tying her ribbon into her hair, Merlin made her way towards the only table that wasn't covered in potions or beakers.

"Help yourself to breakfast." Gaius set down a bowl filled with watery porridge in front of her before going back to retrieve his own bowl. She couldn't help the grimace that flashed through her face after she picked up her spoon and watched the porridge fall back down. When she felt Gaius coming up behind her, she turned to ask him what she should do today only to watch as he knocked down a bucket of water that had been next to her. Merlin stood up and felt her magic flare up as the bucket stopped before it could fall onto the floor. Distracted by Gaius's gasp, she lost her concentration and the bucket dropped, splashing water everywhere.

 _"_ How did you do that? Did you incant a spell in your mind?" Again Gaius started up his interrogation from the day before.

"No, I- I don't know any spells," she said, shaking her head to emphasis her point.

Like yesterday, Gaius didn't let up with his questioning even when she denied knowing anything. For what seemed like the thousandth time she told him how she didn't know how her magic worked. That it just happens and at times without her control. Although, she thinks to herself, she has been able to gain some semblance of control over the years, enough for her not to get into any trouble. Unsatisfied with her explanation, Gaius watched as she went for the mop in order to clean up the water that had been forgotten for Gaius's questioning.

Merlin was relieved when Gaius let the conversation go for the time-being and instead changed the conversation to something else. "You can help me until I find some paid work for you. Here." Gaius grabbed a small sac and bottle from one of the tables and placed it on the table next to her forgotten porridge. Pointing down at the sac he said, " Hollyhock and Feverfew for Lady Percival," and then towards the bottle he explained, "this is for Sir Olwin. He's as blind as a weevil, so warn him not to take it all at once."

Feeling a bit flustered, Merlin responded "okay," and grabbed the items from the table. Before she could leave Gaius stopped her and held out a plate with a sandwich on it. Merlin beamed at him and grabbed it greedily. She was starving as she hadn't had anything to eat the day prior and she hadn't even touched her porridge. Now feeling like she had everything, she made her way towards the door so she could make her deliveries.

Again, Gaius stopped her before she could exit the room. "Merlin, do try and remember that doing any form of magic will get you killed." He shot her a meaningful look that had her nodding in agreement. After she had been properly warned, Merlin set off to complete her first tasks for Gaius, while happily eating her sandwich.

Her first stop was taking the herbs to Lady Percival, who barely glanced her way and only told her to leave the sac on her table. After her awkward encounter, Merlin left to find Sir Olwin's quarters in order to deliver his medicine and hoped that the meeting would be slightly better. Finding the room off to one side of the castle she walked up to it and knocked on the wooden door. It didn't take long for the old man to open his door.

"Hello, sir," she greeted.

"Ah, hello young one. How may I help you?" Sir Olwin said, smiling to the side of Merlin.

Merlin smiled back, even if he couldn't see it, and told him, "I've brought you your medicine."

The old man looked confused before responding, "you're not Gaius."

"I sure hope not," Merlin said and laughed. "I'm Merlin. I've just moved here. I'm helping Gaius out for the time being, since he's been kind enough to let me stay with him."

"Oh, well I can't say that it's not a nice change. Who wouldn't want a beautiful lady such as yourself delivering their medicine," Sir Olwin said, chuckling.

"You are too kind, sir," she responded, blushing at the compliment. Shuffling on her feet she held out the bottle towards Sir Olwin, "erm, your medicine?"

"Right," the old man said, and reached for the bottle.

Merlin set the bottle in his hand, but didn't let go while she told him, "make sure you don't drink it all at once, Sir." Once she made sure that he understood, she let go of the bottle and watched the old man down half the contents from it.

"I'll be off than," she said, pointing behind her.

"Of course, of course. Go on than, I'm sure you would rather be out exploring than hanging out with an old man like myself," the retired knight said cheerfully.

Merlin laughed with the old man and said "nonsense."

"It may have been a while, but I still remember what it was like to be young," he told her gleefully. "Well go on, but do stop by anytime, dear," he said, waving her off. Merlin laughed and went on her way.

"Merlin," Sir Olwin called out.

"Yes, sir?" Merlin asked, turning around to face him again.

"I don't know whether anyone has told you yet, but if they haven't, welcome to Camelot." Sir Olwin gave her one last smile before closing his door. She gave the door a parting smile and then went on her way.

Not having any particular place she needed to be, Merlin decided to wander around and see where her feet led her. There seemed to be more people bustling about than there was the day prior, but unlike her, most of them seemed to be working. She came across a drawbridge gate that led out onto the training grounds and noticed a group of knights off to one side and possibly one of their servants. Feeling curious, she got close enough to the group to hear what they were saying.

"Where's the target?" mocked the knight closest to the servant, laughing along with the others in the group.

"There, sir?" The servant pointed towards the target, sounding confused with the blond man's question.

"It's into the sun," the knight said, smirking.

"But, it's not bright."

"A bit like you, then?" the blond insulted, seemingly enjoying the attention he was getting from those watching.

"I'll- I'll put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?"

"I'll- I'll," the blond taunted, causing the surrounding knights to laugh. Taking that as confirmation, the servant boy went to move the target from its spot while the knights jeered at him.

Not wanting to stay and watch the arrogant man insult the poor serving boy, Merlin moved away from the group. However, before she could get far, she noticed the knights huddled together and could barely make out one of them saying, "teach him a lesson." As the servant moved the target to the other wall, the blond knight took one of his daggers, and threw it at the target. Merlin's eyes widened in shock and she took a half step forward, debating whether she should step in or not.

"Hey! Hang on!" The servant cried out, and the knights laughed at his distress.

"Don't stop!" The pompous knight commanded his servant, with a smug look on his face. The servant moved backwards and looked questioningly at his master "here?"

"I told you to keep moving!" The blond knight drew his arm back before the serving boy could get far, and threw another dagger at the target. Merlin looked around her to see whether anyone was going to stop the blond man's cruelty. However, she was disappointed when no one stepped up to stop the knight. Instead people either diverted their eyes from the scene or stopped to watch.

"Run!" The cruel man jeered, laughing along with his friends. The servant moved from his spot and shuffled his feet along, trying to carry the heavy target while using it to shield his body. The knight continued to throw daggers at his servant, laughing every time the boy would trip.

Having had enough, Merlin stepped forward with the intention of ending the situation, but that turned out to be a bad idea when the boy tripped in front of her. The blond man had thrown his last dagger just when the boy tripped, which left Merlin in the dagger's path. In her desperation to get away, she ended up falling onto the ground next to the serving boy.

"Oof!" Merlin exclaimed. She felt her hands stinging and when she raised them to her face she saw that they had been scratched up when she fell. Feeling angry, she looked up and her cerulean blue eyes narrowed at the sight of the idiot, who was laughing at the spectacle in front of him.

"Look Morris, it's the closest you'll ever get to being with a girl," the idiot told his humiliated servant, while looking Merlin up and down, before dismissing her altogether. She was sure that she had just been slighted, but that didn't matter to Merlin at the moment.

"You utter idiotic, halfwit, imbecile," she growled, as she pushed herself off the ground and stood to face the man.

" _What_ did you just say to me?" the prat said, bewildered that anyone would speak to him in such a way. Good, she thought, it was about time someone said something to this imbecile. Merlin glared at him and ignored him to focus on the boy Morris, who was still on the ground. She smiled kindly to him, and held out her hand to help the boy up off the floor, completely aware of the idiotic knight glaring at her.

"Who are you?" the blond idiot asked her.

"What?" She asked, turning to him after making sure Morris was stable on his feet again.

"Who are you?" he repeated, speaking each word slowly as if _she_ were the idiot.

"Merlin."

"Merlin? Is that not a _boy's_ name?" The knight joked and turned to his gang of knights, who laughed at his weak insult. Merlin raised a brow to show him what she thought of his insult.

"It's the _name_ of a falcon."

"Right," the blond drawled, "well, tell me _Mer_ lin, do you know who I am?"

"No," she said bluntly.

The man huffed in disbelief and asked her "really?" as if he didn't completely believe her.

"I'm sure I would remember if I've ever met an ass such as yourself." She was already fed up with the blond and didn't really care if she was being a bit crude.

"Aren't you a bit crass for a lady," the prat said, a bit shocked with her language.

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm not a lady," she shot back. Done with the conversation, Merlin turned to walk away.

"No, you're just stupid," the blond says with a snort causing Merlin to turn around in anger.

"Who are you calling _stupid_? I wasn't the one throwing daggers around with no regards to people's safety," she exclaimed and gestured behind her, where people had gathered to watch their quarrel, in order to emphasis her point. She becomes even more irate when the knight barely glances their way.

"I can do as I please," the arrogant man said standoffishly. This man can not be serious, she thought, feeling amazed that anyone could come off sounding like such a prat.

"Who do you think you are? The king?" she challenged. Disgusted with the man standing in front of her, she pushed passed him to leave—not caring that she was going the wrong way—and ended up being a bit more forceful than needed, which caused the blond to stumble back in surprise. Unfortunately for Merlin, the man came out of his daze before she could get far enough away from him. She heard the crowd gasp when the knight grabbed her arm and turned her roughly so she had her back to him with her arm held behind her back.

"No. I'm his son, Arthur," the man growled out and it took her a second to realize what he was talking about. When realization hit she huffed in frustration. Of all people to get into a fight with it had to be the prince of Camelot. That didn't change the fact that he was a prat nor did it stop her from glaring at him when his knights grabbed her harshly, pulling her away from their prince. She winced when the knights dug their fingers into her arms and a flash of pain passed her face, showing her discomfort.

"Maybe a night in the dungeons will teach you your place," the prince taunted and smirked at her as she struggled with the knights.

"You're still an idiot," she threw back at him as the knights dragged her away. The added pressure on her arms was worth it when she saw the look of irritation cross his face.

It wasn't until she found herself being escorted down to the dungeons that she realized how serious her situation was. She felt slightly humiliated when people stopped to stare as she fumbled along with the knights, but she didn't allow it to show on her face. Her time in Camelot was not turning out the way she had envisioned it. On her first day she witnessed a man being executed and her second day she was going to be spending it in the dungeons.

"I wonder what my third day has in store for me," she muttered.

When they got to the dungeons the knights pushed her through the door and practically rushed her down the steps that lead to the cells. "Oww! Hey, do you mind slowing down a bit?" She demanded after she lost her footing and twisted her foot, but she was ignored. Huffing in frustration, she turned to the knight on her left and asked, "could you at least lighten up that grip of yours?" Again her request was ignored and unsurprisingly the knight tightened his hold on her.

"So much for your _Code of Chivalry_ ," she snarked. "Good to know that you're the best Camelot has to offer. I feel safer already, really. Just out of curiosity, is this how you treat all women or am I just special?" She asked, giving the knights a cheeky smile. The knights exchanged glances as she spoke and she felt jubilated when they lightened their hold on her. When they reached the bottom and made their way to where the cells were, Merlin's nose scrunched up in disgust as she caught the smell coming from the dungeons.

"What _died_ down here?" she couldn't help but ask her soon to be jailers. She wished she could have one of her arms freed so she could cover her nose from the overwhelming stench. The knights found her repulsion amusing, chuckling at her reaction to the dungeons.

"No one has died here, well not recently anyway," knight-number-one quipped.

"Funny," Merlin said drily.

"I thought so," the knight responded, smirking down at her while knight-number-two laughed next to them. As they walked down the different cells, Merlin noticed a lump on the floor of one of them that didn't seem to be moving.

"I'm sure that person is dead," she stated, awkwardly pointing at the figure, since her arms were still being held. The knights let out a bark of laughter before knight-number-two left her side to rattle the cell door.

"That's Borin. Spends most of his time drinking," knight-number-one explained.

"Oi, Borin!" knight-number-two shouted, rattling Borin's door, "the lady here thinks you're dead. How about you kindly reassure her that you aren't?"

"Sod off you cox-comb!" came the reply. Merlin jumped at the gruff voice, not expecting it or the insult.

"Oh shut your trap you churl," knight-number-two sneered.

" _Okay_ ," said Merlin,"I'm sure he's lovely and all, but please tell me I won't be spending the night next to him." She looked up at the two knights, pleading with them. They huffed in amusement and led her to a cell across from Borin. Knight-number-one opened the cell door and opened it for her.

"You're cell, my lady," the knight said, bowing in jest. It seems everyone's a jester nowadays, she thought, raising her brow at the man. She stepped into the cell and felt confused at the knights change in behavior. First they stoically dragged her down to the dungeons, not caring if they hurt her, and then they were happy to converse with her. It confused Merlin, but she wasn't going to question it. It was probably a Camelot thing, she thought to herself.

After Merlin was inside the cell, knight-number-one locked the door behind her. "We'll be sure to let you out in the morning," one of the knights said while she was taking in her surroundings. There wasn't even a bed in the cell, only hay that probably hadn't been changed out, and she did not want to know what that dark stain was by the far corner.

"Have you ever thought about cleaning this place?" She questioned, turning abruptly to face the knights, who had been staring at her. She looked at them strangely when they quickly diverted their eyes and refused to make eye contact with her. People can be so weird, she thought.

"Why would we want to do that?" Knight-number-two asked bewildered. "We want to _discourage_ people from wanting to be here, not encourage it."

"Of course," she grimaced, looking at her cell with disgust. When the knights prepared to leave, Merlin stopped them and asked, "What are your names?" When the knights looked perplexed she explained, "You've just thrown me in jail, I'm sure that at least warrants a first-name basis. I'm Merlin." Grinning, she squeezed her hand through the cell and held it out for the knights to shake.

"Sir Frederick, my lady," knight-number-two replied. He turned her hand and softly touched her knuckles with his lips. She blushed, but before she could pull her hand back knight-number-one grasped it in his and did the same.

"Sir Josef, my lady."

Merlin laughed awkwardly, pulling her hand back. She smiled hesitantly at the knights and stepped back, almost tripping on the hem of her dress. Sirs Frederick and Josef chuckled at her clumsiness before making their way back towards the entryway, but not before calling out their goodbyes. With them gone, Merlin came back to reality. She was suddenly aware that she was going to be spending the night in the dungeons for her insolence, not that she regretted it, well most of it anyway. What is Gaius going to think? she wondered. At that thought, Merlin's blue eyes widened in realization. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten all about the old physician. Does he even know where she is? Has anyone told him yet? Not likely, she reasoned, they wouldn't have reason to since they don't know of her connection with the old man. Gaius is going to be so disappointed, she thought miserably. She wouldn't be surprised if the old man kicked her out, thinking her too 'chaotic' for his calm way of life, or as close to calm as it comes for the court physician.

Merlin ran her hands through her hair in defeat and her heart stopped. "No, no, no, please no," she repeated desperately as she ran her fingers through her hair hoping that she was wrong, but she wasn't. Her red ribbon was gone. It must have gotten lose during the whole commotion on the training grounds.

"How could this day get any worse!" She cried out, kicking one of the stone walls in her cell. "Ow! Okay _not_ a good idea," she muttered. She limped to the back of the cell and sat down with her head bowed. Not long after, a tear landed on her folded hands and soon more followed. She covered her mouth with one of her hands hoping to hold in her sobs. She didn't want to disturb her fellow prisoners because she was having a moment of weakness. She wasn't even crying over the ribbon, not completely anyway, instead everything that has happened since she stepped foot in the beautiful city had finally hit her. Merlin was first and foremost a village girl and it seemed to her that she wasn't cut out to live in a city like Camelot. There were too many rules and she had to hide who she was, more so than normal that is, but most importantly she missed her home. At least there they didn't have dungeons for her to be thrown in. She probably would have had her own personal cell after becoming a regular, she thought, laughing at the idea. All cried out, Merlin laid down on the cell floor—using her arms as a pillow—and closed her eyes wishing that it was morning already. Before sleep took her she heard shuffling coming from the cell in front of hers.

"Don't worry beautiful lady, it's not all bad here," Drunk Borin slurred before slumping over. Merlin looked to see if he was okay, but then soon heard snores coming from his cell. She turned around so her back was facing the cell door and laid back down on her arms. She looked towards the small window that showed faint light streaming in. It was soon going to be nighttime, she noted. As she closed her eyes one last tear fell down to land on her arms and before she drifted off to sleep she heard Drunk Borin's words running through her head and she hoped that he was right, that things will get better soon, because if they didn't, she didn't know what she would do.


	3. THE DRAGON'S CALL (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to put this up last week, however, I ended up going camping before I could finish the chapter, and of course there was no signal where I went. I was planning on just making this episode be three parts, but then this chapter got too long so I had to make an extra part. I would have put the chapter up sooner, but my sister insisted on having the fourth part finished, because she didn't want to wait to read the last part. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this. :)

_Merlin..._

Merlin awoke from her sleep and looked around her cell in confusion. She was sure that her name had just been called out, but when looking towards the cell door she saw that no one was there. Feeling perplexed, Merlin sat up from where she had been lying and groaned when she became aware of how sore she was, especially her arms. She wouldn't be surprised if she had bruises, considering how hard the prince and the two knights had grabbed her. While in the middle of rubbing her hands down her arms the same voice that had woken her up called out again, _Merlin._

Warily, she scrambled off the floor and moved towards the door. She looked wildly around the cell and tried to find where the voice was coming from, but she couldn't pinpoint the source.

_Merlin._

Again her name was called out, and Merlin found herself questioning her sanity when she looked to where she had previously been sleeping. For a moment she thought the voice was coming from _beneath_ the floor. Wishing to prove herself wrong, Merlin went to kneel by her makeshift bed and put her ear close to the floor, waiting to hear the voice again.

"Merlin!"

Almost losing her balance after being startled, Merlin turned sharply towards the sound of her name, and saw Gaius standing outside her cell door. Once she recovered from the shock, she beamed at the sight of the old physician and hastily stood to face him. However, when she got close to the door she was able to make out the angry look on Gaius's face, and her smile dropped from her face. Being aware of his displeasure, Merlin hoped that the guard standing next to the physician wouldn't open the door. She was probably safer inside the cell than outside with Gaius. Unfortunately, the guard opened the cell for the physician, and Merlin quickly stepped back when Gaius rushed in to stand in front of her.

"You never cease to amaze me!" Gaius growled. "The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot." Merlin cringed at his harsh words. She knew that he was right, even if she didn't want to hear it. She _had_ acted like an idiot when she had confronted the prince for being a prat, and a part of her accepted that she got what she deserved. She was just lucky that her only punishment was a night in the dungeons, because it could have been a lot worse. What she wasn't prepared for however, was the obvious disappointment that was easy to see on Gaius's face. She didn't think that it would hurt as much as it did, because, although the old man had been kind to her since her arrival to Camelot, Merlin barely knew the physician. However, she knew that it was _because_ of his kindness and his willingness to take her in, even with his knowledge of her magic, that she felt ashamed for disappointing him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" She stopped mid-sentence, unable to continue as she didn't know how to explain why she thought picking a fight with a complete stranger, who turned out to be the future king of Camelot, was such a good idea at the time.

"Of course you didn't mean to. No one ever _means_ to do anything," Gaius said, raising a brow in disapproval. Merlin smiled sheepishly at his words and let out a sigh of relief when Gaius gave her one last look of irritation before dismissing the situation. "You're lucky that it wasn't worse than a night in the dungeons," Gaius remarked and Merlin nodded in agreement. "And of course time in the stocks," he continued, looking towards the waiting guard by the cell door. Merlin nodded, also turning towards the guard before quickly turning back to Gaius with a confused look on her face.

"Stocks? W-what do you mean?"

"Well you didn't think that a night down here was going to be your only punishment, did you?" Gaius replied, exasperated with her naivety. At her wide eyed stare Gaius huffed and continued, "Foolish girl, you were seen arguing with Prince Arthur. Consider yourself lucky that you've been allowed to keep that head of yours."

"No one said anything about the stocks," Merlin argued, folding her arms close to her in indignation. Sirs Frederick and Josef were probably off somewhere laughing at her misfortune, she thought. They could have at least told her that the stocks were a possibility in her near future in-between all the staring and mood changes. Gaius rose an unimpressed brow and made his way out of the cell, only to be replaced by the guard, who coaxed her out of the cell and directed her towards the stairs. Merlin couldn't believe that she was going to be spending her third day in the stocks, but at least the guard didn't drag her down the streets or grab her roughly. She didn't think she could deal with anymore bruises than the ones she probably already had.

Walking down to the lower town with a guard was just as humiliating for Merlin as it was the day before when she was being taken to the dungeons. The only difference now was that people were excitedly following the pair down to the stocks. Just like the dungeons, the stocks were a completely new concept to Merlin, but she knew that she was going to enjoy it as much as she did the cells.

The pair made it down to the lower town where the stocks were, and she was surprised to see that there were three other people already being pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables. She winced when one of the men cried out after being hit with a potato that wasn't rotten enough to soften the blow. She looked towards the potato thrower and hoped that the young boy wouldn't throw a potato at her head. This was going to be a long day.

Her guard pulled her towards the stocks where two knights where standing guard. She almost lost her balance when she recognized one of the knights. "Sir Josef, what a surprise to see you here on such a lovely day," she said, smirking at the man. "Did you come to see the entertainment?" she inquired, gesturing towards the men in the stocks. Sir Josef huffed in amusement before stepping forward to take her guard's place. With a simple nod, Merlin found herself in the knight's grasp.

"Merlin," Sir Josef greeted, chuckling when she glared at him. She was still upset that they hadn't warned her about this.

"What happened to 'we'll be sure to let you out in the morning'?" She asked, imitating one of the knights.

"You were let out, weren't you?" the knight joked, smirking down at her. Merlin scowled and rolled her eyes up in defeat.

She gestured towards the stocks and said dramatically, "well, lets get this over with." Sir Josef threw his head back in laughter causing Merlin to smile smugly because she was able to get such a reaction from the knight.

Sir Josef led her to stand by the wooden framework and exclaimed "halt!" towards the participants. At his command everyone stopped and a lone tomato flew past them and hit one of the men in the stocks. The man let loose a string of curses, only stopping when the other knight, who was standing guard, stared the man into submission.

With the flying food at a standstill, Sir Josef led Merlin to an empty spot next to a scruffy man that smelled strongly of ale. He lifted the top wooden board and made her bend forward so her head and hands were fitted into the cut out holes. Once she was situated, Sir Josef lowered the top and locked the boards together so she couldn't escape. Not that she would be dumb enough to try.

After making sure that Merlin was secured he bent down close to her and whispered, "Don't worry. This won't last long," he gestured towards her, "I'll let you out when it's over. Promise."

"Because that went so well last time," she joked, giving him a small smile. When he pulled away, Merlin gave him a final nod to tell him that she was ready and looked towards the crowd in acceptance. Sir Josef chuckled, took a step back, and lifted his arm to signal the impatient crowd that they could proceed. It wasn't long before people began throwing rotten food and Merlin closed her eyes when she was pelted with fruit and vegetables. She couldn't help retching in disgust when a piece of rotten fruit landed in her mouth. Spitting it out, Merlin grimaced and looked towards the crowd where she caught sight of a laughing Gaius. Feeling humiliated, she glared at the old physician as he walked past, but had to quickly look down when she saw a tomato coming her way.

The shabby man next to her chuckled and Merlin looked towards him bewildered. Seeing that she was looking at him the man spoke to her while semi-dodging the flying fruit and vegetables."This your first time darling?" he inquired, squinting at Merlin as if he were trying to look past what he could see of her.

Feeling out of her depth she responded, "Is it that obvious?" She winced when a particularly hard potato hit her head. The older man glared at the culprit and muttered "idiot" under his breath before focusing back on her.

"Sweetheart, you don't look like the type to end up in the stocks," he said. He looked her up and down and asked, "what is it exactly that you did that landed you here?"

"I may have picked a fight with the prince of Camelot," she answered sheepishly, waiting for the man's reaction. Out of all possible reactions, she wasn't prepared for the man to throw his head back and let lose a booming laugh. She was impressed that he was able to keep food from going into his mouth. As she tried keeping rotten food from hitting her face, she waited for the man's laughter to die down. After a while the man calmed down and shook his head in amusement.

"You're telling me that _you_ got into it with Prince Arthur?" He asked, disbelief clear in his eyes.

Feeling slighted, Merlin turned to the man and retorted, "is that too hard to believe?"

"No, I'm just surprised that the stocks was your only punishment. The Prince can be—" the man struggled to find the right words for his prince.

"A bit of a prat?" She filled in, raising her brow, challenging the man to contradict her. The man smiled in amusement. "Did you call him that?" he asked.

"No, but I'm sure he got the sentiment when I called him an idiotic, imbecile," Merlin said, shrugging at the man's look of astonishment.

"You're a strange one,"the man said, giving Merlin a peculiar look. "Not many people can get away with talking to the royals in such a way and survive to tell the tale. Not that many people go out of their way to insult them to their face, mind you. That being said, you my dear lady are either very brave or a complete idiot," the older man told her with an amused glint in his brown eyes.

"Probably a complete idiot," she confessed, "but to be fair, how was I suppose to know that he was the prince?" There was a slight pause in their conversation as a new batch of food rained down on them and Merlin tried to hold back a squeal as parts of a tomato landed on her neck.

"I take it you're not from around here?" The man questioned when there was a slight reprieve in the food throwing, tilting his head to the side in order to see her better. At her perplexed look he continued, "If you were from here you would know who the royals were on sight. You may be an idiot, but I'm sure you at least have _some_ semblance of self-preservation. I'm sure that if you had known who Arthur was, you wouldn't have said any of the things that landed you here," he ended, completely sure of his assessment.

"Well..." Merlin began, squinting her eyes in thought.

"I see I was wrong then. You're not just an idiot, you're an idiot with a death wish," he huffed in disbelief. In response, Merlin just smiled cheekily at the man.

"You know what I did to land myself here, but what did _you_ do to find yourself in this lovely place?" She asked.

"I was being drunk and disorderly," the man said offhandedly as if it were a common occurrence for him. Merlin had a moment of realization, and an image of an unmoving lump in a dirty cell flashed through her mind. She should have realized sooner considering how strongly he smelled of ale.

"You're Drunk Borin," Merlin blurted out without thought. Her eyes widened in horror at the idea that she might have just offended her new friend—if he was even that. However, when she looked towards the older man he only looked amused.

"I see my reputation precedes me," he said, eyes filled with mirth. "If you ask me, I prefer Borin. And what do they call you? The Idiot?" He winked at Merlin playfully causing her to laugh at his antics. Something about Borin made it hard for Merlin to get offended. Maybe it had something to do with how he seemed to find everything amusing, and that he didn't speak down to her cruelly. Even if Merlin had just met the man, something told her that this was just how Borin was.

"I'm Merlin," she told him.

Borin seemed thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Like the bird?" Merlin beamed at him, happy that Borin had understood right away, unlike most people. She nodded in agreement, and Borin chuckled at her obvious enthusiasm.

"You probably don't remember, but I was in the cell in front of yours last night," she told him.

"Ah," Borin said in understanding. "I see that you were given the grand dungeon tour then. Hoped it was to your liking my lady," he joked. Merlin huffed in amusement and shook her head, trying to hide the smile that was trying to make itself known.

"Why everyone seems to want to call me their lady, I'll never know. I'm no noblewoman," Merlin admitted. Borin looked at her and raised a brow in question. "Sir Josef over there," she pointed towards where the knight was standing, "and Sir Frederick both called me 'my lady' yesterday." Borin let loose a loud laugh after she was finished.

"Oh sweetheart, let me tell you that my reasons for calling you my lady and their reasons are _completely_ different." He continued to laugh only getting louder when Merlin continued to look confused. He only stopped when pieces of rotten food landed in his mouth. Despite her confusion, Merlin snorted in glee.

When he didn't continue explaining, Merlin asked, "Are you going to tell me their reasons then?"

"And ruin the surprise? No, I'll let you figure it out on your own." Merlin glared at Borin's obvious enjoyment, but it didn't faze him. Instead, he squinted at Sir Josef as if he were trying to look right through the knight. "He seems to look like a strapping young man," he said, cocking his head to the side in consideration. "You could do a lot worse to be honest."

"Are you still drunk?" Merlin couldn't help but blurt out. Borin laughed at her question, his eyes squinting in joy.

"Possibly," he confessed in jest.

Before Merlin could keep interrogating Borin, a guard commanded the onlookers to halt their food throwing. Merlin looked around, wondering why people were being told to stop. Next to her Borin chuckled at her confusion.

"Congratulations, Merlin. You've made it through your first time in the stocks. Let's just hope you don't come back for a second experience." As he said it, Merlin could tell that Borin didn't believe it for a second. She would have felt offended except that a small part of her agreed with Borin.

She watched as Sir Josef stepped forwards to unlock the wooden boards in order to set her free. Beside her Borin was being set free as well, and snorted when she heard him insult the guard for taking his time.

"You're free to go now Merlin," Sir Josef told her, gaining her attention. As she righted herself, she winced when she felt her bones cracking from how long she had been in the stocks. She turned to thank Sir Josef, but stopped when she saw him staring at Borin with an odd look on his face. Borin also saw, because he smirked at the knight as he came to stand next to Merlin.

"I must be off now Merlin," Borin told her, while still smirking at Sir Josef. He looked towards Merlin, changing his smirk into a genuine smile, "Don't be a stranger little birdie, come visit me in the lower town when you get the chance." Merlin grinned at the name and agreed to find him when she was free.

"I'll look for you if I live past my guardian's anger," she promised. "He's the court physician, so he could probably make anything look like an accident."

Borin laughed and told her, "I'll promise to mourn you then." He ruffled Merlin's hair, laughing when she growled at him. After shooting a look towards Sir Josef, Borin started walking away before calling out, "Stay out of trouble little birdie."

"Only when you stay out of the mead," she countered, causing Borin to laugh. When he was out of sight, Merlin turned back to a waiting Sir Josef.

"You know he's old enough to be your father," Sir Josef sullenly pointed out.

"And?" She tilted her head, silently questioning the knight.

"Uh, never mind. It's not important," Sir Josef denied, slightly flustered.

Merlin rose her brow, feeling perplexed. She pointed behind her and told him, "right, well I'm just going to go now. I really need to get cleaned up." She looked down at her ruined dress in disgust, upset that it had been her favorite dress that was now covered in rotten fruit and vegetables.

"Of course. Do you need help getting back to your chambers?" Sir Josef offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine, Sir Josef." Before she could leave she was stopped by the knight calling to her.

"Josef," he said.

"Pardon?" She questioned, confused.

"You can just call me Josef," the knight told her. Merlin smiled at the knight and received one in return.

"Alright then, _Josef_." Merlin bid Josef goodbye, and made her way towards the square in order to get to Gaius' chambers. As she walked down the streets she was met with stares due to her appearance, but Merlin ignored them for the time being. She only cared about making it back to her room and washing off all the food. As she made her way up the stairs that led to the physician's quarters, she looked down at a particular stain on her dress, and wondered whether she could get it out without resorting to magic.

Making it to the top, Merlin pushed her way into the room and looked around, only to find that no one was there. She looked up towards the bookshelf to make sure that there wasn't a repeat of her first day. Unsurprisingly, that was empty as well. Calling out to Gaius, she stepped further into the room and saw a large tub near one of the back tables in the room. Getting closer she found a note with Gaius's handwriting on it.

 _Had to run some errands in the lower town,_ the note read, _I've had a bath prepared for you, please use it. I'll be sure to return in time for lunch, hopefully you will be finished by then._ Feeling touched, Merlin set the note down and looked into the tub to see that it was filled with water. Putting her hand into the water she felt that it was cold. Biting her lip nervously, Merlin looked around the room to check that no one was lurking in a corner somewhere. Satisfied that she was alone, Merlin turned back towards the tub and reached for her magic. She cried out in triumph when steam rose from the water. Tucking a loose hair behind her ear, Merlin quickly began to undress and sighed when she settled into the tub. The warm water did wonders to her sore body and she had to jerk herself awake when she felt herself falling asleep.

Forcing herself to finish bathing, using the soaps and oils that Gaius had left for her, Merlin sat up to get out of the bath and noticed her mistake. She looked around her and noticed that there wasn't anything for her to use to dry herself up other than her dirty dress. Casting a look towards the closed door, Merlin debated whether she could rush into her room. Debating the consequences, Merlin decided to risk it and stood from the bath only to drop back down, splashing water over the rim of the tub, when the door into the room was swung open.

Merlin felt her heart beating out of her chest when she almost slipped and yelped when she banged her elbow on the tub.

The girl that opened the door gasped in horror, and dropped the bundle that she had been holding on a nearby table, and made her way to where Merlin was trying to cover herself. Merlin had no clue about what was happening and she could feel herself blushing in embarrassment, wishing she could get away from the situation.

"I am _so,_ so sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where's Gaius?" The girl looked wildly around the room, hoping to find the physician. Not finding him anywhere, the dark-skinned girl turned back to Merlin, twisting her fingers nervously.

Feeling the pain leave her elbow, Merlin sat up while still covering herself and looked at the worried girl in concern. "It's alright, I was just surprised," she consoled the girl, who seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Merlin pointed at the note that was still laying where she had left it and told the girl, "Gaius said that he had errands to run in the lower town. He'll be back by midday. Did you need him for something?" She asked the girl, hoping that if she did it wasn't for anything serious.

The girl shook her head and pointed to where she had left the bundle of linen she was carrying. "Gaius asked me if it were possible to bring by a couple of towels. Said that he needed extras for someone, which I'm guessing it was for you," the girl looked at Merlin, who nodded in confirmation. The girl smiled hesitantly and stood from where she had been kneeling next to Merlin's bath in order to retrieve one of the linen towels from the table. "I'm really sorry about barging in like that," the girl said, holding the towel towards Merlin in apology. Merlin grabbed it, giving the girl a smile in thanks, and stood up while wrapping the towel around her.

"It's fine, I should have locked the door." Merlin smiled in gratitude when the girl helped her step out of the tub, holding onto the girl tighter when Merlin almost slipped on the water that had splashed onto the floor.

"No, I should have knocked instead of barging in the way I did," the girl said, trying to put the blame on herself.

Merlin had a feeling that they would be there all day going back and forth trying to take all the blame, therefore, she decided to compromise. "How about we just agree that we were both at fault," she stated.

"Deal," the girl agreed, grinning up at Merlin.

Merlin found herself shivering in the middle of the room when she felt a drop of water slide down her back. Remembering that she was still wet, and that she was currently making a bigger puddle of water on the floor, Merlin moved towards her room, motioning for the girl to follow her. The girl closed the door behind her as Merlin reached into the cupboard where she had left her bag the day before, and dumped its contents onto her bed.

"I'm Guinevere," the girl introduced herself. "But most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid."

"Right." Merlin nodded and pretended to know who this Lady Morgana was. "I'm Merlin." As she introduced herself, Merlin rummaged through her clothing and pulled out her chemise, and quickly threw it on while Gwen politely turned away. Pulling her towel off and running it through her wet hair, Merlin joked, thinking about Borin's teasing, "Although, most people just call me Idiot."

Not understanding that she was joking, Gwen turned to face Merlin, and quickly disagreed, "No, no, no. I saw what you did. It was so brave. No one has ever spoken up to the prince the way you did."

"That's what I keep hearing," Merlin told Gwen, "but I think it was about time someone stood up to him, even if it was stupid of me to do so." Because the more Merlin thought about it, she was able to see how idiotic it was for her to pick a fight with the prince. It didn't even matter that she hadn't known who he was, because she still assumed he was a knight. She may be from a small village, but she knew enough to know that knights were on a higher social class than her and thinking that she could come out as the victor was just foolish.

"Of course it was stupid, but that doesn't mean it wasn't brave," Gwen told her as Merlin threw her wet towel on the floor in exchange for looking for a dress to wear. Gwen gave Merlin a look before picking the towel up and folding it. Setting the towel on a nearby chair, Gwen continued, "Either way, I'm glad you walked away, even if you did get yourself arrested. You weren't going to beat him."

Merlin gave Gwen a mocking glare as she told the girl, "I could have definitely beaten him. He was just lucky that I didn't feel like showing him what I am truly capable of." Merlin lifted her head in a haughty manner causing Gwen to laugh.

"Oh yeah, Arthur should cower in fear in the presence of the Great Merlin," Gwen teased, taking a seat on Merlin's bed as Merlin pulled a red dress on. Gwen looked down at the stuff that was taking over Merlin's bed and found a comb underneath a piece of garment.

"It's beautiful," Gwen remarked, running her fingers through the intricate red and golden flowers lining the thicker part of the comb.

"Thank you. It was a gift." Merlin explained, sitting down when Gwen patted an empty spot next to her.

"Was it from a suitor?" Gwen asked, running the comb down Merlin's dark locks.

"What? No, no. It was just a gift. I can barely remember who gave it to me," Merlin was quick to deny Gwen's question, hissing as the comb pulled her hair when she tried facing Gwen.

"Stay still," Gwen ordered, moving Merlin's head to face forward. "So let me get this straight. Someone, who wasn't that memorable, considering you don't know who it was, gave you a beautiful comb that must have cost quite a bit—I'm sure this is real gold—and he _wasn't_ a suitor?" Merlin could hear the teasing tone in Gwen's voice, and if she had been looking back she would have seen the gleeful smirk gracing Gwen's pretty face.

"But I've had loads of gifts given to me from people and none of them were from suitors," Merlin argued, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. Behind her, Gwen laughed at her displeasure.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they _were_ suitors. You're beautiful. I'm sure it won't be long before the men of Camelot start lining up to offer gifts to you." Merlin blushed at Gwen's words, and desperately wanted the conversation to end.

"How about we go back to talking about how I was an idiot for starting a fight with Prince Arthur." Gwen only laughed at her attempt to change the topic. Gwen set down the comb and grabbed part of her hair and began twisting and pulling it into an intricate braid, while the rest was left down.

"Fine, even if you are the 'Great Merlin', Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save the world kind of men. The type who doesn't retreat no matter what...and... well..." Gwen tapered off and instead focused on tying Merlin's hair with an extra ribbon that had been hiding in her stuff.

When Gwen was done tying her hair, Merlin turned to face her and asked, "Do you not think I'm capable of such a thing?"

Gwen, who still had her hands slightly raised from doing Merlin's hair, looked shocked before lowering her arms and said, "No, of course you are. You've proved it when you stood up to Arthur. It's just that he can be a bit stubborn to the point where even you would have to concede to him. He always gets his way and that has turned him into a bully. Nothing will ever change that, Merlin."

Merlin sat contemplating Gwen's words and barely acknowledged the door opening outside. Both Gwen and Merlin turned to face the door that led out to the physician's chambers and heard Gaius calling out to Merlin.

"I'm in here, Gaius." Both Gwen and Merlin stood from the bed and made their way out of the room. Gaius looked up from where he was setting different herbs on a table and rose his brows in surprise when he noticed Gwen standing next to Merlin.

"Gwen, my dear, I'm surprised you're still here." Gwen walked down the steps with Merlin following behind her.

"There was a bit of an accident," Gwen explained, pointing to the wooden tub that was surrounded in water. Gaius gave Merlin a look when he saw the puddles of water, and she smiled sheepishly back at him. Gwen sniggered at Merlin, who threw her a betrayed look.

"You wound me Gwen. I thought we were becoming friends here," Merlin joked. Gwen only laughed and walked towards the exit.

"I have to be off now. Errands to run for Morgana and such," Gwen explained. "But Merlin, for what it's worth you're a real hero for what you did, and there are many people who believe that." Merlin grinned and bid Gwen goodbye as she walked out of the room.

At Gaius's questioning look Merlin just asked "what?" Gaius just rolled his eyes in fondness before pointing towards the mess Merlin had made with the water, and told her to clean it up while he prepared lunch.

Not realizing how hungry she was, she quickly got to work, only barely stopping herself from using her magic to clean up the mess. However, that didn't stop her from using her magic to clean her dress when she took it into her room, away from Gaius's line of sight. Not long after Merlin had finished cleaning up, Gaius called her to tell her that lunch was ready.

Merlin put everything away and settled down at the table where there was a bowl of soup waiting for her. As she began to eat, Gaius came up beside her and joked, "Do you want some vegetables with that?" while pointing at a bowl filled with lettuce and carrots. Merlin looked up at Gaius and laughed at his sense of humor.

"I know you're still angry with me, and I'm sorry that I haven't made my stay here easy on you." Merlin looked down at her food in shame before looking back up at Gaius, who was smiling slightly at her.

"Your mother asked me to look after you," he confessed, sitting across from Merlin.

"I know," Merlin told him. She picked her spoon up and began swirling it around in her soup so she didn't have to look at Gaius.

Gaius sighed and reached out to still her movements. "Merlin," he called, causing her to lift her head to focus on the old man. "What did your mother say to you about your gifts?"

Confused at his line of questioning, Merlin answered, "She told me that I was special, but isn't that what all mothers tell their children?"

"You are special," asserted Gaius. At her scoff of disbelief, Gaius narrowed his eyes before continuing, "Merlin, you can do things that in all my years I have never seen anyone do, and because of that you are special. Even if you don't want to believe it."

Feeling confused, Merlin asked, "What do you mean?"

Gaius looked away, as if pondering what to tell Merlin, before turning back to her. "As you may or may not know, magic requires incantations, spells, and because of that it takes years to study. After the Great Purge it would probably take even longer. And that is why you are special, because what I saw you do was... elemental, instinctive. Something that isn't possible, even before the Purge."

Merlin looked thoughtful. She had already known that what she could do was impossible. Even though she never told other magic-users about her instinctual magic, she was able to gather from the information she could find that magic had to be taught. But in the end it didn't matter if she could do the impossible, that she was special, and she made that clear to Gaius. "What's the point if it can't be used?"

Gaius sighed and confessed, "That I do not know and sadly we might never find out. You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin."

"I could move objects since before I could talk," Merlin started to explain, "and I've been told that I couldn't use my magic for just as long. If I can't use my magic, what have I got? It feels like I'm dying when I have to keep it in. Without it I'm nothing and I will continue to be nothing until the day magic is allowed again. I have to believe that there's a purpose Gaius. A purpose to my magic and that one day my magic can be used for what it was meant for. Only then can I believe that I am as special as you and my mother seem to think." Merlin pushed her plate back, no longer feeling hungry. Gaius gave Merlin a sad smile and pushed the plate back to her, convincing her to eat.

"Eat up dear, I know you haven't eaten since yesterday. What kind of physician would I be if I can't keep my own ward healthy?" Merlin huffed in laughter and ate a few spoonfuls of Gaius's food. When she was almost done with the soup she looked back up at Gaius.

"Gaius? Did you ever study magic?" Merlin couldn't help but ask.

Gaius paused in the middle of eating and considered her question. "Uther banned all such work twenty years ago," he told her. It didn't pass Merlin's notice that he didn't answer her question and chose to ignore it for the time being. Instead she grasped at the chance at learning more about King Uther's decision to attack anything that had to do with magic.

"I've learned about the Great Purge, and how King Uther began prosecuting magic-users, but I never understood _why_ he started the Purge in the first place, especially when it was gladly welcomed before."

"People used magic for the wrong end at that time," Gaius explained. "It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons." At the mention of the dragons, Merlin felt an odd feeling that she couldn't explain wash through her.

"All of them?" She asked, feeling saddened at the thought of such magnificent creatures being hunted down to extinction.

"Not all of them," Gaius confessed. At Merlin's questioning look Gaius continued to explain, "There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle where no one can free it." At Merlin's incredulous look, Gaius stood from his seat and began clearing the table. "Now since you're all finished up, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice."

"First, who is Lady Helen? And second are you sure you want me to take her that? Because the last time you had me taking medicine to people I ended up in the dungeons." Gaius gave Merlin an unamused stare before pointing towards the bottle.

"Lady Helen has been invited by Uther to sing at tomorrow's feast in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of his successful banishment of sorcery from the kingdom." Ignoring Merlin's grimace, he picked up the bottle intended for Lady Helen and handed it to her. "Now get to it." 


	4. THE DRAGON'S CALL (4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to anyone who is actually reading this! Here is the last part to "The Dragon's Call." I hope you enjoy it.

Inside the castle, Merlin made her way up a spiral stairway until she got to the balcony corridor that one of the castle servants had directed her to. Since she came to Camelot, Merlin hadn't had the chance to enter fully into the castle and now that she had, she could see that the castle's beauty wasn't only limited to the outside. Merlin looked around in awe as she stepped off the stairs and made her way down one of the balconies. She found it beautiful how the light streamed in from the stained glass windows, washing over the corridors. After almost bumping into a servant due to being distracted, Merlin made her way down the corridor and entered an entryway that led to Lady Helen's guest chamber.

Stopping in front of the lady's room she knocked on the door, and waited for it to open, but after a bit of waiting it never did. Not knowing whether she should enter the chamber or come back when Lady Helen was present, Merlin stood in the hallway feeling indecisive. After a bit of debating, Merlin reached out, and opened the door only to find that it was unlocked. Looking up and down the corridor, and seeing that no one was there, she stuck her head into the guest chamber and called out for Lady Helen. When there was no response, Merlin stepped into the room and looked around for a place to leave the bottle.

In front of her, she saw a vanity table with a covered up mirror, which she found odd, and wishing to leave the room, Merlin quickly set the bottle on the table. There was something about the room that made her feel off, but she couldn't place her finger on it. The quicker she got out of the room the better, however, when she set the bottle down, she noticed an effigy made of straw lying on the table. Merlin picked the doll up and wondered why Lady Helen of all people would have such a thing in her possession. As she examined the effigy, Merlin could feel a form of power or something coming off of it and it made her even more curious. Setting it back down, Merlin noticed a piece of fabric covering what seemed to be a book.

Looking behind her to see if anyone was coming, Merlin moved the fabric away and found an intricate book lying there. Picking it up, she gasped when she felt power coming off of it just like the straw effigy. It was then that she realized that what she was feeling was magic. She looked at the book with even more interest, because now she knew that what she was holding was a magic book. Merlin didn't even think that there was even any spell books that survived the Purge, but here she was holding one in her hands. But why would Lady Helen have a magic spell book? And one that seemed to be darker in nature. Merlin could feel the dark aura coming from the book, and that puzzled her.

From what she had learned, magic books had no magic of their own. Instead they absorbed magic from the user every time they used their magic around a spell book. Sorcerers could even tap into the absorbed magic when they needed more power for spells that required more power than they usually had. Spell books were seen as an extension of a sorcerers power, it was why spell books were so personal, and a magic user would rather die than give it up. That would mean that for the book that Merlin was holding to be letting off a dark aura, its owner had to be practicing dark magic. Holding the book away from her, Merlin hoped that Lady Helen had just come by the book during her travels, because she didn't know what she would do if Lady Helen was practicing dark magic.

Before she could keep looking, Merlin heard someone coming from outside and she quickly tried to cover up any evidence that she had been going through Lady Helen's stuff. If Lady Helen _was_ using magic, and dark magic at that, she didn't want Lady Helen to think that Merlin was onto her. She had just covered the book when Lady Helen walked into the room. She turned to face her and almost panicked when she saw Lady Helen looking to where the book was suspiciously.

"What are you doing in here?" Lady Helen asked, looking at Merlin oddly.

Merlin's eyes widened in panic as she tried to think of something to tell the lady, and then she remembered what she had originally gone to see Lady Helen for. "I, um, I was asked to deliver this." Merlin picked up the potion bottle from the table and showed it to Lady Helen who looked shocked. "A-Are you alright?" Merlin asked as she began to look behind her to see what made Lady Helen look so rattled.

"Yes!" Merlin jumped at the sudden exclamation and turned back to face the other woman. "I'm alright thank you," she told Merlin. "I think that will be all. I'll just take that." Lady Helen reached for the bottle and pushed Merlin out of her room.

She made her way out of Lady Helen's room, feeling perplexed about the whole situation. If the woman _was_ a sorceress then she had good control of her magic, because Merlin couldn't sense it as she walked past her.

Lost in thought, Merlin made her way out of the castle and walked across the square with no specific place in mind. Maybe she could try finding Borin or even Gwen. Other than Gaius, she didn't know anyone else in Camelot.

Merlin walked through the lower town, stopping every now and then to look through the different stalls. She had just stopped at a stall that sold different fabrics when she heard the last voice that she wanted to hear.

"Well if it isn't Merlin the falcon. Enjoyed your time in the stocks?" The men that surrounded the prince laughed as the prince walked closer to her.

Merlin ignored the prince and instead focused on a particular fabric that had caught her eye. The color was a Camelot red with golden filigree woven along the edge. It was beautiful and would probably make a lovely dress, but she knew that she couldn't afford something that intricate nor the material in general. Putting the fabric down, Merlin turned to walk away, continuing to ignore the prince's presence.

"Leaving so soon? No need to run away just because I'm here," the prince spoke arrogantly.

Merlin stopped and turned to look at the prince in disgust. "Why would I be running from _you_?" The moment she had turned she had caught a flash of annoyance before the prince's expression changed into a smug look.

 _"_ Thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb." At the prince's insult, Merlin glared at the man as he laughed with his gang of bullies. It didn't even make any sense.

"Trust me, if I didn't have to hear your pompous voice I would," she shot back, quickly silencing the laughing prince. The prince's eyes narrowed in ire as he stepped towards her. Unwillingly, Merlin took a step back before she stood her ground and faced the prince.

"And I you," he told her, almost close enough to touch. "Even after knowing who I am, you still speak to me with such disrespect. But what can you expect from someone such as you." At that he looked down at Merlin with contempt.

"By knowing who you are, you mean a royal ass right?" Merlin asked, tilting her head in mock confusion. She smirked when the prince turned to his men in disbelief. "What? Need your daddy's men to protect you now? Can't keep up with me?"

Arthur laughed and gestured to her. "I could take you apart with one blow."

Without thinking, Merlin retorted, "I could take you apart with less than that." As the men and the prince laughed, Merlin replayed what she said and blushed. She glared at the suggestive look on Arthur's face and told him, "that's not what I meant and you know it." The prince only laughed at her plight. Feeling embarrassed, Merlin turned to walk away, but the prince called her back.

"Even if you could," he told her, looking at his men to show that he didn't actually think Merlin could beat him, "I don't fight with girls, and I guess you can claim to be one." The prince looked her up and down smirking, which caused Merlin to fume in anger.

Affronted, Merlin was quick to respond to the prince. "Afraid that I could actually beat you? I promise not to embarrass you too much in front of your friends."

"I'm not sure you could take me on. I've been trained to kill since birth." The prince didn't seem too concerned with Merlin's claims and that only angered her more, which explained what she told him next.

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" It seemed Merlin hadn't learned her lesson from her time in the dungeons or recently the stocks.

Letting out a disbelieving laugh, Arthur looked at her and said, "You can't address me like that."

Merlin pretended to look confused before pointing a finger at the prince. "Right, royalty. My apologies sire." At Arthur's approval, Merlin continued speaking. "What I should have said was, how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?" Arthur smiled a perturbed grin as Merlin gave a small curtsy.

She tensed a little when she noticed him grip the hilt of his sword before he let it go. The surrounding men must have noticed as well, because they took that as a sign to gab Merlin. As two of them gripped her arms, Merlin glared at them and muttered, "really? We're doing this again?"

Before they could take her away Arthur stopped the two men. "Wait. Let her go. She may be an idiot." He ignored Merlin's glare. "But she's a brave one." Merlin's glare lessened at that. This time Arthur turned to speak directly to Merlin," Not many people have spoken to me the way you have."

"I've noticed."

Arthur ignored her and continued. "I have to say, there's something about you, Merlin, but I can't quite put my finger on it." He stared at her as if he was trying to figure her out and it made her nervous.

"I have that affect on people," Merlin told him, brushing off Arthur's comment. The prince shook his head in disbelieving amusement, and gestured for his men to leave.

Merlin watched them go, confused when Arthur didn't follow them.

"As interesting and impertinent as this was," Arthur gestured between them, "I have something that I believe belongs to you." Merlin looked at the prince quizzically, but it quickly changed to surprise when Arthur reached into a pouch that was tied onto his belt, and pulled out a long red ribbon.

"My ribbon!" Merlin exclaimed happily, and reached for it, but Arthur pulled away before she could grab it. "Hey!" Arthur smirked at her indignation and examined the ribbon, running his fingers along the frayed areas. "Be careful, it's old" she warned him.

"I've noticed. I would have thrown it away, but I figured it was probably the only expensive thing you owned. Mind you it's pretty worthless now." Arthur held the ribbon out, and Merlin grabbed it before he could take it away again. She ran her fingers through the ribbon, relieved that she got it back. After everything that happened since losing it, she had completely forgotten about it.

"You know that not everyone can just go and buy new silk ribbons when their old one is too worn out, right?" Merlin asked Arthur. An odd look flashed through Arthur's eyes and then it was gone.

"Now, why would I need ribbons?" Merlin gave him an unamused look as Arthur smirked while walking backwards, before he turned and walked out of the marketplace.

"Goodbye to you too," Merlin muttered. She stood there watching for a bit longer before she too left on her way. With the sun beginning to set, Merlin decided to postpone her exploration of the lower town for a later time and made her way back to Gaius's chambers.

It wasn't long before she was entering the doorway into the physician's room and she sighed happily at the sight of the door that led into her own bedchamber. As she made her way straight towards the door, Merlin was stopped by Gaius calling to her. She jumped at the sound of his voice, forgetting that he would be here.

"You took your time, Merlin. Did you find Lady Helen's chambers alright?" Gaius asked her, while he mixed herbs on his work table.

"Yes I did. I just thought I would take a walk down in the lower town. Explore a bit." Gaius looked at her suspiciously, and she tried not to fidget.

"I assume you stayed out of trouble," he said, raising a brow to show her what he would think if she said no.

Not wanting to bring up her confrontation with Arthur, Merlin nodded in agreement, before pointing towards her bedchamber, "I've had a bit of a long day. I think I'm just going to go to bed if that's alright with you."

"Go right ahead. I'll wake you in the morning." Seeing the matter finished, he turned back to his potions.

Merlin smiled in fondness and made her way into her room. However, her smile dropped when she noticed all the stuff on her bed. She groaned when she remembered dumping all her stuff from her bag after her bath. Too tired to put everything away, Merlin just threw everything on the floor and called it a day.

Putting her ribbon on the table, Merlin got out of her dress and let it drop to the floor. Now only in her chemise, Merlin pulled back her only blanket and snuggled into her bed. It felt like forever since Merlin slept on a bed and it felt amazing as she stretched, and got more comfortable. As soon as she pulled her pillow close, and settled down, Merlin fell asleep with a small sigh.

_Merlin._

Merlin's eyes snapped open as she heard the same voice from that morning calling her name. She stayed still, waiting to see whether the voice would call out to her again. The voice didn't disappoint.

_Merlin._

Feeling a pull that she hadn't felt the last time, Merlin sat up from her bed and threw her blanket off. Only having the moonlight to guide her, she walked to where a pile of her clothes were and rummaged through it.

"Aha," she crowed as she found her faded cloak and then slammed her hand over her mouth when she remembered that Gaius was probably asleep by now. She waited a bit to see if Gaius had woken up, and sighed in relief when no movement came from the other room. Quickly putting on her cloak, being sure to cover her chemise—she didn't want to cause a scene if anyone were to see her state of undress—Merlin made her way out of her room. Nervously looking at Gaius, she made her way across the room and winced when she bumped into something, causing it to fall onto the floor.

She stilled, and watched as Gaius turned around in his bed, so his back was now facing Merlin. About to leave, she stopped when she saw that Gaius had pulled down his blankets when he had turned. Making up her mind, she stepped forward and with a rush of her magic, the blankets were pulled back up to cover him. Satisfied that he won't get cold throughout the night, Merlin quickly made her way out of the chambers before she could knock anything else down.

Merlin exited the castle and made her way across the square, trusting the pull of the voice to lead her to its owner. She pulled her cloak closer to her when she noticed guards stationed around the square.

_Merlin._

Her name was called out again, and Merlin quickened her steps, waving hello to one of the guards that was looking at her suspiciously. To be fair she _was_ sneaking about the city in the middle of the night, but luckily she wasn't stopped as she walked passed. Following the pull, Merlin groaned when she realized that she was being led to where the dungeons were. As if she hadn't spent enough time there already.

Making sure that no one was watching, Merlin quietly crept in and descended the stairway, only stopping when she noticed a pair of guards playing dice on a table near the stairs. There was no way that she could walk past without being noticed.

Looking behind her to make sure that no one had come in while she was distracted, Merlin turned back to the guards and had a sudden idea when she saw one of the guards roll their dice. Waiting for the guard to roll, Merlin used her magic to roll the dice away from the guards, causing the man to go after them. Every time the guard came close to the dice, Merlin moved them out of his reach. She stifled her laughter when she saw the guards confusion. With one last shove the dice were thrown into the dark passage that led into the cells, and it was only then that the other guard still sitting at the table stood to follow his partner.

Sure that the men were suitably distracted, Merlin made her way down the rest of the stairs, grabbed a torch that was by the guards table, and quickly lit it with the fire mounted onto the stone wall. Next to it, Merlin found another entryway that led down to a dark tunnel. Looking back to where the guards had disappeared to, making sure that they weren't coming back, Merlin moved to stand in front of the iron doors that led to an old stone stairway. At the top of the steps, she heard her name being called out again, but this time it seemed louder than the previous times she heard the voice.

_Merlin._

She shivered. Merlin hadn't realized how ancient the voice sounded until then and a part of her feared what she would find at the bottom of the stairs. With her heart pounding and feeling apprehensive, Merlin descended the steps, and followed the voice.

_Merlin._

At the bottom of the stairs, Merlin turned left and entered a passageway that had broken statues littering the floor. As she walked down deeper, she began to notice how the stone walls of the castle began to taper off and in its place raw stone became more prominent. If she didn't know any better, Merlin would think she had just entered a cave. The deeper she went in, the colder it became, and Merlin couldn't help but shiver when she felt a slight breeze coming from the end of the tunnel. Pulling her cloak closer to her body, Merlin made her way to the end of the passage, and let out a gasp of surprise when she came upon a massive cave.

"What?" Merlin was confused as to why there was a cave underneath the castle, and she wondered if anyone else knew that it was here. As she walked closer to the edge, she remembered a conversation that she had with Gaius. _There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle where no one can free it._ Something told Merlin that she had just found the dragon's cave, and it didn't pass her notice that she had been lead here by something.

Merlin stepped back, wishing she could leave the cave and go back to the safety of her room. However, not long after she thought that, she heard a deep chuckle reverberate through the cave walls. Not seeing anybody Merlin shouted out to the empty cave, "Where are you?"

Growling came from above Merlin, and with a swoosh a dragon flew overhead and landed in front of Merlin. She flinched in surprise when the great dragon spoke. "I'm here!"

It felt odd to hear the same voice that she had been hearing in her head for the last two days. She had been right when she had described the voice as ancient, because looking at the dragon she couldn't help but think of him as such. Just as Merlin was staring at the dragon, the dragon was doing the same. She stumbled backwards when the dragon stretched his neck to examine Merlin closer.

 _"_ How small you are for such a great destiny," the dragon rumbled.

Merlin looked at the dragon in surprise at the mention of her destiny. Had she not been feeling like she had a greater purpose? "What do you mean? What destiny?"

"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason," the dragon revealed.

"I knew there had to be a reason. Please, tell me," she pleaded. She stepped closer, not caring that she was in the presence of a dangerous creature.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion," he divulged quite dramatically, and looked down at Merlin in a way that made her feel like what he had just said should mean something to her.

"Right," she drawled, disbelieving, "and this has to do with me how?" She asked the dragon, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

The dragon ignored her question and continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike."

"Have you met him?" She couldn't help but interrupt again. "It's not that surprising, if I'm being honest. But, I _still_ don't see what this has to do with me."

The dragon huffed in annoyance, before relenting. "Everything," he told her. "Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

"Then what is he going to do if I'm doing all the work?" She couldn't help but ask the dragon. If the dragon is telling her that Arthur can't succeed without her, than what's the point of the prince?

The dragon fluttered his wings in agitation. "Just as Arthur will never succeed without you, _you_ will never succeed without him."

"But what if I don't _want_ to help him. Can you just choose someone else for this? Someone who can actually stand him, which may seem difficult, but I'm sure there's at least one person who doesn't want the prat dead. I'm going to tell you now that if anyone wants to go and kill him, I might just step aside and let them. Might even give them some pointers. In fact, I might go as far as giving them a hand." Merlin rambled on desperately, not knowing what she was saying towards the end. She just knew that she did not want to spend more time with Arthur than she had to. If she could, she would rather keep their interactions to a minimum.

The dragon laughed at her desperation, making Merlin feel like a small child. "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."

"Are you sure it's this Arthur though? Because this one's an idiot," Merlin asked, reaching for a chance to get out of her 'destiny'.

"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

Merlin bravely glared at the dragon. When she asked for a purpose to her magic, she didn't expect to be told that her destiny was to help someone she didn't even like. "You _really_ need to meet him if you think it's possible to change the prince." The dragon ignored her and began to flap his wings, preparing to take flight. "Wait! Stop! Don't leave you overgrown lizard!" The dragon growled at Merlin, but she ignored it. "You haven't told me everything. I need to know more," she demanded. The dragon flew upwards and Merlin shouted in frustration. While the dragon flew away, Merlin heard clanging. Looking at the dragon, she saw a long chain attached to his back hindlimb, and for the first time it hit her that the dragon was a prisoner underneath the castle.

With one last look towards the dragon, Merlin hastily left the cave and made her way back up the stairway. Hearing voices coming from outside, she immediately snuffed out the torch she was still carrying and carefully set it on the stone floor. Sneaking out of the entryway, Merlin flashed her eyes and a loud bang could be heard coming from the other side of the room. She watched as the guards rose from their seats and went to investigate the sound. With the guards gone, Merlin rushed up the staircase that lead to the outside, almost slipping in her haste to get out.

Merlin practically ran back to her chambers, only slowing down when she was crossing the square. She couldn't afford to have one of the guards stop her and question her about her whereabouts.

Merlin made it back to Gaius's chambers and creeped past the sleeping man. Softly closing her door, Merlin chucked off her cloak and shoes and jumped into bed. She fell asleep the instant her head hit her pillow.

"Oi!"

Merlin jumped at the loud cry, and groggily looked around her room for the cause, groaning when she saw an angry Gaius standing by her door. She squinted as the early morning sunlight entered her room, and rose her arms to keep the light from hitting her face. She just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but she couldn't ignore Gaius's presence.

"Have you seen the state of this room?!" Gaius picked up one of Merlin's shoes in irritation. She grimaced as he dropped it back on the floor as he looked at all the clothes strewn around the room.

Merlin blushed as he stared at her in disbelief. "Um, it just happens?" She said it unconvincingly and Gaius was aware of it.

"By magic?" He asked sarcastically, but Merlin grasped onto the excuse.

"I know you're joking, but yes." Not amused, Gaius picked up one of her dresses and threw it at her face. Merlin ducked and sat up, using the dress to cover her undergarment.

"Yes. Well, you can clear it up without magic." Merlin groaned at the thought of having to clean her room. Maybe she could use her magic without Gaius ever knowing. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Unaware of her thought process, Gaius gave Merlin a pouch filled with coins. "When you're done I need you to go down to the lower town and get me some herbs: henbane, wormwood, and sorrel. Did you get that?" Merlin just nodded, overwhelmed. "Merlin, did you get that?" Gaius repeated, not believing that Merlin was listening to him in her half asleep state.

"Yes, yes, I heard you. Henbane, wormwood, and, and." Merlin frowned in thought, trying to remember the last herb he had mentioned.

"Sorrel," Gaius told her, already regretting asking her.

"Right, sorrel."

"After you get those, deliver this to Morgana. Poor girl's suffering from nightmares." Gaius handed Merlin a pouch holding a potion bottle inside. Finishing what he needed to tell her, Gaius turned to leave, but stopped to pick up more of her clothes and threw them at her. Merlin huffed and threw them back down.

"I know the feeling," she muttered to her now empty room.

As Merlin prepared for the day, she used her magic to clean the mess in her room. Every once in a while, she would look towards the door and kept watch. The last thing she needed was for Gaius to barge in and see her doing something he had expressly told her not to.

Once she was done, Merlin entered the other room, where Gaius was already hard at work. "All finished Gaius," she told him, as she grabbed a piece of bread from the table and walked to the door that led to the outside. "I'll be off then. Errands to run, places to be, you know how it is. I'll be back with those herbs of yours. Betony, hyssop, and rosemary right?"

"Merlin," Gaius warned, raising his infamous brow.

"Just kidding. Bye!" Merlin grinned cheekily, and exited the chambers before Gaius could say anything.

Eating her bread, Merlin walked down to the lower town, where people were already bustling around. She smiled as she took in all the smells and sounds. It was so different from home, and she knew that as long as she stayed out of trouble she was going to love it here.

Merlin stopped at a stall that was selling bundles of herbs, and examined them to make sure they were still fresh.

"Need any help, dear?" An old woman, who she assumed was the owner of the stall, came up beside her, smiling kindly at Merlin.

Merlin smiled back and held up the herb she was holding, "I'm getting herbs for Gaius, the physician."

"Ah," the old woman said, "are you the young woman Gaius has been talking so much about then?"

"I must be." Merlin smiled bashfully, and put the herb back down. "I'm Merlin." She held out her hand and the old woman shook it.

"Margery, dear. Now, what does Gaius need you to bring him?" Margery looked questioningly at Merlin, who looked at the herbs, and pointed to the ones she needed.

"Henbane, wormwood, and sorrel." Margery rose a brow, looking impressed at Merlin's ease at identifying the herbs. "I was a curious child growing up—still am if I'm being honest. We had many visitors that stopped by in Ealdor who were willing to teach me their crafts. Healing was one of them, and that included learning my herbs," she explained to Margery.

"Impressive. You'll be of some use to Gaius." Margery grabbed the bundles of herbs that Merlin needed and handed them to her. Merlin smiled in thanks and paid for them. "Off you go then. Make sure to stop by any time, dear."

Merlin left the market and headed back to Gaius so she could drop off his herbs. Other than a quick greeting, she didn't stop to speak with him. After asking around, Merlin entered the castle and made her way to the griffin landing, and walked up some curved steps that led to Lady Morgana's chambers.

As she got close to the chambers door, she noticed that it was open. Merlin stepped in and saw Lady Morgana looking at herself in the mirror. Before Merlin could make her presence known, the Lady Morgana started to speak while walking behind her changing screen.

"You know, I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole. Pass me that dress, will you Gwen?" The Lady Morgana began to undress, and Merlin looked around awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Deciding to make herself known, she spoke up. "I'm not Gwen my lady, but I completely agree with you about the prince." She saw Morgana still behind the changing screen, before the lady stuck her head out to look at her.

"Who are you? Why are you in my chambers?" Morgana demanded.

"Oh, I-I'm Merlin." She held up the pouch with the potion in it, and showed it to the lady. "Gaius asked me to bring this to you." The lady processed what Merlin told her, pointing at a nearby table for Merlin to leave the pouch.

"So you wouldn't touch Arthur with a lance pole?" The Lady Morgana inquired.

"Who would?" Merlin blurted out. Morgana laughed, amused.

"You wouldn't mind giving me my dress would you?" She pointed at a dress that was laying on a chaise lounge. Merlin grabbed it and handed it to Morgana. "I must admit that Arthur's a total jouster. And just because I'm the king's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it."

"Of course not. That would be torture. He's a complete prat, and I mean that with complete respect," she was quick to assure when she remembered who she was talking to. However, rather than being offended, Morgana laughed as she finished dressing.

"So you're _that_ Merlin." At Merlin's sound of confusion the lady continued. "Arthur has been ranting to anyone who will listen about a girl who doesn't seem to know her place. My maidservant, Gwen, has also been talking about you. You seem to be quite famous in this castle, Merlin." Morgana stepped out from the changing screen and smirked in amusement. "I'm impressed that you called Arthur a prat."

"Of course that's what you hear. I promise I'm not disrespectful to everyone, my lady," Merlin told the amused lady.

"You may call me Morgana. Anyone who can get the better of Arthur is good by me. I need some help with this fastening. Do you mind?" Morgana turned her back to Merlin, who quickly stepped up, and fastened the dress for her. "Thank you. Oh, hello, Gwen."

Merlin turned and saw Gwen standing by the open doorway. "Hello, Gwen," she greeted.

"Hello." Gwen looked at Merlin and Morgana confused and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Merlin here was dropping off my potion, and we got to talking about Arthur," Morgana explained to Gwen then she walked back to her changing screen and picked up a maroon dress. "Now important question about what I should wear. So, it's whether I wear this little tease," she twirled around in her purple dress, before holding up the maroon dress, "or give them a night they'll really remember."

Gwen and Merlin glanced at each other then turned back to Morgana, and together they said, "give them a night they'll remember." Morgana held up the maroon dress and looked at herself in the mirror. She grinned at Merlin and Gwen, and set her dress down.

"After much debating, I have decided that I'm going to the banquet by myself." Gwen gasped at Morgana's words, and Merlin looked at the two, her brows raising in question.

"Did Arthur not ask you?" Gwen looked offended for her lady, but Morgana just shrugged it off.

"No, I'm sure he probably thinks that it was obvious that we were going together, but if he wanted me to go, then he should have invited me, but he hasn't. So now, I'm going alone." Luckily Morgana didn't look too upset about it.

"Men," Merlin huffed out. The other two women looked at Merlin and agreed.

"Men."

Merlin stayed a bit longer then she expected, happily gossiping with the other two women. This was new to Merlin, and if she were being honest with herself she had to admit that she liked it. The girls in Ealdor treated Merlin differently, and they never went out of their way to invite her to any of their gatherings. The other girls didn't appreciate how much time Merlin spent with the opposite gender. They also didn't appreciate it when Merlin told them that if they hadn't spent so much time rejecting her, then she wouldn't have had to spend time with the village boys. It was no surprise that not long after that the rumors began, which was part of the reason why Merlin was sent to Camelot.

In the middle of hearing the latest gossip about the baker's daughter and the stable boy, Merlin looked out towards the window and gasped when she noticed how late it had gotten. At her gasp, Gwen stopped in the middle of her story and both women looked at Merlin.

"I'm so sorry Gwen. I just realized how late it has gotten. I'm sure Gaius is probably out searching the dungeons to see whether I've been thrown in again."

"Oh." Gwen also looked shocked at how much time had passed and along with Morgana she stood. "I didn't think it was this late. Should I start getting you ready Morgana."

"Please do, Gwen." Morgana went to sit at her vanity and looked back at Merlin. "It was a pleasure meeting you Merlin. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other again."

"Likewise my l-Morgana." Morgana grinned at Merlin's slip and then turned to face her vanity mirror.

"Until later, Merlin," Gwen said, already starting to fix her lady's hair.

"Until later, Gwen." After saying her farewells, Merlin left Morgana's chambers and rushed back to her own.

Entering the physician's chambers, Merlin saw that Gaius was in the middle of putting his work away and had yet to notice her. Clearing her throat, Gaius jumped and sent Merlin a disapproving look.

"Off causing trouble again?" He was quick to ask.

"Gaius, you wound me. Who do you take me for? A common hooligan?" Merlin tried looking as innocent as possible, but Gaius didn't buy it for a second.

"Well now that you're here, I suggest you go and get ready for the banquet."

"T-the banquet? I'm going to that?" Merlin didn't even think there was a possibility of her going to the banquet, especially after all the trouble she had caused since she came to the city.

"Of course you're coming. As my ward you'll be coming to all of the castle's events. Better to keep an eye on you. Mind you, you will not be going as a guest, but rather you shall be working. Helping the other servants and such." Merlin didn't care as long as she was allowed to go. It was going to be her first celebration, and in Camelot no less. What was even better was that she knew that Gwen was going to be there. She could even ignore that as this was a banquet being thrown by the royals, that it also meant Arthur was going to be there.

Merlin squealed in delight and went to get ready. She didn't have many dresses so she chose one that looked the least threadbare and quickly threw it on. After feeling satisfied, Merlin rushed back to an amused Gaius, who tried to look disapproving, but failed completely. She only beamed, and waited impatiently for the man to finish putting everything away.

After what seemed like forever, Merlin followed Gaius to the banquet hall. She began to feel slightly nervous when she noticed how many people were gathered there already. So many nobles for her to make a fool of herself. That, however, changed when she caught sight of Arthur joking around with his friends. She rolled her eyes at the sight and turned away. Something about the man just irked her. When she looked away she caught sight of Morgana walking into the hall. Merlin smirked when she saw how all the men turned to stare at the lady. A night they'll remember indeed. As if reading her thoughts, Morgana caught Merlin's attention and smirked in return.

"Merlin." Gaius interrupted their silent conversation, and said, "Remember, you're here to work." At Merlin's acknowledgment, Gaius walked away and began to mingle with the other guests. Right after Gaius left her side, Gwen was quick to take his spot. Merlin, who had been busy watching Arthur walk up to speak with Morgana, turned her attention to Gwen.

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen commented.

"She looks beautiful. All thanks to you, I'm sure," Merlin said, remembering the work Gwen had put on her the first time they met.

"Oh no. That's all her. Some people are just born to be queen."

"You think so?" Merlin asked, looking back at the conversing pair.

"I hope so," Gwen confessed. "One day. Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?"

"Not anyone in their right mind, that's for sure." Anyone who could stand to be near the prince for longer than necessary was a true hero. Gwen laughed, before excusing herself to fill a waiting nobleman's chalice. Wanting to look busy, Merlin picked up a tray filled with an assortment of meats and cheese, and walked around the hall, making sure to give Arthur a wide berth.

After a few laps around the hall and a brief conversation with Morgana and Gwen, where they spent most of their time insulting Arthur while giggling, and a brief moment of Merlin gushing over how beautiful Morgana looked, the sounds of celebratory horns began to fill the banquet hall. While everyone found their place at the tables, and Merlin stood off to the side of the head table with who she recognized as Morris, King Uther made his big entrance and went to stand in front of his audience.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honour of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." At his introduction, the guests began to clap and when the music started, Uther and the court took their seats.

When Lady Helen began to sing, Merlin felt chills run through her, and not in a good way. The lady's voice sounded beautiful, but it gave Merlin a daunting feeling. She watched as the Lady Helen left her spot and began walking nearer to Uther and Arthur. The louder Lady Helen's voice went Merlin realized that it was having an affect on the court members, who were starting to nod off to sleep. Coming to the conclusion that the lady was enchanting everyone with her voice, Merlin was quick to press her hands over her ears. She watched in horror as cobwebs began forming over the enchanted sleepers. She winced when she saw Morris fall back onto the steps, and could only think about how much that will hurt when he woke up.

Focusing back to Lady Helen, Merlin felt a flash of frustration at herself for not thinking more on the possibility that the lady was an evil sorceress, and now everyone was paying for it. In the middle of chastising herself, she was able to notice how Lady Helen kept staring at Arthur, and watched in dread when the woman pulled out a dagger from her sleeve. Looking around the room desperately, she noticed a chandelier right above the woman, and without thinking, Merlin used her magic to drop it on top of Lady Helen.

Dropping her hands back down to her sides, Merlin looked around anxiously, waiting to see whether everyone would start waking up soon. She didn't have to wait long before everyone in the hall began to wake and pull the cobwebs off of themselves. As Uther and Arthur stood up, Merlin gasped in shock, along with the rest of the people in the room, when she noticed the old woman from her first day in Camelot lying on the floor. She watched as the old woman rose as much as she could and threw the dagger at Arthur. Merlin felt her magic reach out, and as time slowed around her, she rushed to the prince's side and pulled him hard enough for him to topple over her. She grunted in pain when she felt Arthur's whole weight land on her, but it was quickly forgotten when she saw the dagger impaled into Arthur's chair. That could have been Arthur if she hadn't pulled him in time. Merlin suddenly felt faint, but if anyone were to ask it was because of the heavy man that had yet to get off of her.

It was only then that she realized that everyone was staring down at the pair, especially the king. Merlin repeatedly slapped Arthur's shoulder. "Get off you great oaf," she hissed, so Uther wouldn't hear her insulting his son. "Honestly, I just saved your life and this is how you repay me? Let me be the first to tell you that whatever you've been eating, you really need to lay off of it. Now get off." She continued to hit the struggling man on the same shoulder. "Are you deaf as well as dumb," she mocked.

"Funny," Arthur huffed, as he struggled to stand, having gotten tangled in her dress. Merlin only smirked up at him and continued to hit him.

"Oh lay off woman," Arthur growled, rubbing where she had been hitting him as he finally got off of her.

Merlin huffed in annoyance when he only turned to face his surprised father, completely ignoring her. Merlin stood and brushed herself off. "No, please, don't help," she said dryly and the prat only smirked at her. She huffed in annoyance. "Are you even a gentleman? Someone saves your life the least you could do is help them up."

Before Arthur could retort, Uther interrupted them. "You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."

"Oh, um, I." Merlin quickly became flustered at having the king's full attention. _This man can have you burned or have that very pretty head of yours chopped off_ , her very morbid mind shouted at her.

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded." The king continued to speak, uncaring for Merlin's inner turmoil. Not that he would even be aware of it.

"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness." At this point Merlin should have just stopped. If she learned one thing about the Pendragon's, it was that they were stubborn. Probably had to do with how high they were in the social hierarchy. Never got used to being told no.

"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special." Uther came closer, looking expectantly at Merlin. She wished that Arthur would stop staring at her, because it wasn't helping her nerves. No one wanted to be under both royals full attention, especially someone like her.

"Really, sire, I." She was interrupted.

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's maidservant," the king pronounced proudly, as if he were doing her a favour. The audience applauded at his proclamations, but she couldn't help the look of disbelief that was probably obvious on her face. He did realize that Merlin was a girl right? Obviously he did if he made her Arthur's _maidservant_. But she was a _girl_. In what world was it proper for her to be a servant to a _man_.

As the king walked away, Merlin turned to a shocked Arthur and told him, "What is _wrong_ with you people?" Completely ignoring Arthur's offended look, Merlin walked away and left the hall. She no longer felt like being in the presence of people who had serious issues. Merlin made it back to the safety of her own room and fell onto her bed sullenly. She turned on the candles with a touch of her magic before resuming her moping. She didn't know how long she laid there contemplating how angry her mother would be if she packed up all her stuff and fled Camelot, when a knock came from outside her chamber door. Calling out for the person to enter, Merlin sat up and waited for Gaius to come in.

"Seems you're a hero."

At his words, Merlin groaned dramatically and flopped back down on her bed. "Please, don't remind me. Should have just let the dagger hit. Then I wouldn't be in this mess."

She felt Gaius sit down on her bed, and she turned to face him. The man smiled fondly at her. "No, you wouldn't have let that happen, and you know it. I knew it from the moment I met you. When you saved my life, remember? You didn't even know me, and your first instinct was to save me. A complete stranger that could have turned you in for using magic."

"Yeah, magic," she muttered sadly.

"It seems, we finally found a use for it," Gaius told her nonchalantly.

Merlin feeling confused, looked to Gaius and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Just as you saved mine, you saved Arthur's life as well. Perhaps that's its purpose." Gaius looked at her proudly, but it didn't make Merlin feel better when she thought about her conversation with the great dragon.

Merlin sighed and looked up at her ceiling. "My destiny," she said, somewhat accepting it.

"Indeed." Gaius broke through her thoughts as he handed Merlin a book that was wrapped in a cloth. "This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me." Merlin sat up and unwrapped the cloth, gasping when she could feel the faint presence of magic. Gaius's magic. She let the lightness of it wash over her before she unlatched the leather bound book.

"It's a book of magic. I can feel your magical aura on it," she told him as she she ran her fingers down the worn pages, before quickly closing it and handing it back to Gaius. "You know as well as I that I can't keep it. A sorcerer's spell book is an extension—"

"Of their power. I'm well aware of that my dear," he informed her, while pushing the book back to Merlin. "But I haven't used magic in over twenty years, and therefore no longer do I feel the same connection to this book the way I used to. It's yours now Merlin. Yours to fill with your own magic. Just promise me that you will keep it hidden."

"I promise. I will study every word." Merlin held the book close to her reverently. She could already imagine how it will feel when the book was completely overtaken with her own aura. However, a small part of her felt sad that Gaius would be losing one of his last connections to his magic. Before either of them could say anything a knock could be heard coming from outside the physician's chambers.

"Merlin, Prince Arthur wants you right away," a guard called up to her, and Merlin groaned.

"Does the man not know what a decent hour is?" She asked irritated.

Gaius gave Merlin an amused look and told her, "Your destiny's calling. You'd better find out what he wants."

As Merlin left her room, she wondered how long she would be able to keep the prince alive for before she decided to finish the job herself. There was only one way to find out, she thought as she exited the chambers and made her way to her annoying destiny. 


	5. INTERLUDE (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next part, but I'm sure you'll soon find out that this isn't the next episode of Merlin. I just wanted to bridge the two episodes first before moving on to the next one. I also want to mention that at some point the story will start moving away from the show because I think that realistically a female Merlin would change how things happen and her and the characters would react differently compared to how they act in Merlin.

"Please, just kill me now. I give you full consent." Merlin followed Gwen into her home and dropped onto the table bench with a huff. She couldn't believe that Arthur had called for her the night before just to have her get him ready for bed. Already feeling annoyed about her situation Merlin had unsurprisingly called Arthur a child who couldn't undress himself. Arthur had apparently not appreciated the insult because rather than Merlin getting the prince ready for bed, the two ended up insulting each other late into the night before Arthur threw her out of his room. No matter what he said, Merlin was counting that as a win for her.

Gwen stifled a laugh before telling her, "Oh, don't be so dramatic. It can't be that bad." Merlin glared at Gwen's obvious amusement, but it did nothing to deter the older girl.

"But it is Gwen. We can't be in the same place without insulting each other, and knowing me, I will end up telling the prince off in front of the wrong people and soon after King Uther will be announcing my execution." This time Gwen didn't bother holding in her laughter, and Merlin sighed in defeat, putting her head on her hand.

"Why would Uther call for your execution? You saved his son's life, I'm sure that warrants some safety," Gwen told her, coming to sit across from Merlin.

Merlin looked at Gwen dubiously and told her, "I could save the whole kingdom and _that_ wouldn't protect me from the king's ire if he thought I didn't know my 'place'." Gwen gave Merlin a pitying smile.

"Arthur can be a bit much at times, but maybe you can change that," Gwen told her as she stood from her seat and made her way to a corner of the room.

"So I've been told," Merlin muttered. She watched as Gwen picked up a basket filled with clothes and set it on the table before sitting across from her again. "Even if I could change Arthur—and that's a _big_ if—why do _I_ have to do it? Why not someone else? Preferably a _male_ , who is actually qualified to be the prince's servant." Merlin looked at Gwen desperately, hoping she could help her out of her current problem.

"I'm sorry Merlin, I don't know what to tell you." Gwen looked at Merlin with a look of helplessness, clearly upset that she couldn't help her new friend. In that moment, Merlin's feeling of fondness grew for the older girl. Gwen barely knew Merlin, yet she didn't hesitate in listening to her woes, and Merlin couldn't help but feel lucky to have her friendship.

"It's fine, Gwen. Thank you for listening anyways," Merlin told Gwen, smiling up at her in gratitude. Gwen returned the smile before reaching into the basket that sat between them and pulled out a beautiful blue dress. Grabbing her sewing tools, Gwen began mending the dress.

Gwen stopped in the middle of a stitch and pushed the basket closer to Merlin and motioned for her to grab one of the dresses inside before asking, "You wouldn't mind, would you?" Not having the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn't be a good idea, Merlin smiled hesitantly and grabbed a green dress that had a slight rip at the bottom of it. If Gwen could listen to her rants about the prince then Merlin could help her with her chores.

"Are these Morgana's?" She asked as she noticed the more expensive material. She reached for one of Gwen's needles and thread and began sewing the dress, being careful not to mess it up.

Gwen hummed in agreement. "I was meant to finish mending them yesterday, but with everything that happened." Gwen shrugged, while expertly fixing the dress. Merlin watched in awe as the other girl flawlessly mended the dress before moving on to the next one. She looked down at the dress she was holding and grimaced at the sight of her stitching. She had been careful when sewing the dress, but her stitching was far from perfect like Gwen's were. As a girl, Merlin had to learn how to sew, but she could never do it as perfectly as the other girls in her village. It was another one of her flaws that the village girls liked to ridicule her for. The only good thing about becoming Arthur's maidservant was that she probably wouldn't be given any delicate material for her to mend like Morgana's dresses.

Merlin finished the rest of her stitching and reached for another dress that didn't need Gwen's magic hands. "Speaking of yesterday, did you hear about the serving girl that the guards found in Lady Helen's room?" Merlin winced when she poked her finger with the needle.

"It's all everyone has been talking about up at the castle. I still can't believe old Mary Collins would do something like that, even if she was a sorceress. She's been in Camelot for as long as I can remember. Her and her son. Did you poke yourself?" Merlin was caught in the middle of sucking her finger, and she smiled sheepishly.

"It's fine. But Mary Collins?" She asked while carefully finishing the dress she was working on.

"Yes, she was the one impersonating Lady Helen. Her son was just recently executed for being a magic user. I wasn't there, but I heard that Mary had threatened Uther for killing her son, Thomas." Merlin remembered that day vividly as it had been her first day in Camelot. After everything that had happened since her first day, Merlin hadn't given the old woman a second thought. It seemed that no one else did either and the kingdom of Camelot nearly paid for it with the life of their prince.

The two worked in silence for a bit before Merlin asked, "Did you know the girl?"

Gwen looked up in confusion before understanding what Merlin was asking her. "Bronwen? No, I can't say that I did. I've seen her in passing of course, but we worked in different parts of the castle so we rarely ever ran into each other. I do know her betrothed, Samuel, however. He's understandably not doing well."

Merlin grimaced at the revelation. "She was betrothed? That's even worse and here I am complaining about working for Arthur when someone just lost the love of their life." She sighed sadly as she finished sewing Morgana's dress. Gwen nodded in agreement, also finishing her last dress before putting it back in the basket. Sensing that her visit with Gwen was coming to an end, Merlin stood from her seat preparing to give her farewells. "I should be heading out now. Before kicking me out last night, Arthur gave me a day to figure out the ins and outs of the castle so I could learn what is expected of me as his new servant. He also wanted me gone for the day, something about an important tournament that he had to prepare for, and he didn't want me ruining anything, which I take complete offense to."

Gwen looked bewildered at her statement and asked, "Kicked you out?"

Merlin only shook her head and responded to the confused girl, "It's a long story."

After telling Gwen goodbye and thanking the girl for welcoming Merlin into her home, she headed out and made her way back to the castle. Gaius had told her that the best way to learn about her new duties was to ask the servants. As she passed through the lower town she wondered whether she would be able to find Morris as he had been Arthur's previous servant. Hopefully he wouldn't be too upset that she had taken his job, even if it was unwillingly.

Only getting lost once or twice, Merlin made it to the servant's quarters and without knocking she barged in. She immediately regretted doing so when the servants inside stopped what they were doing and looked at her oddly.

"Can we help you?" one of the older servants asked her, shocked at Merlin's entry. Merlin shuffled where she stood, fidgeting with her hands when she noticed that the servants were still staring at her.

"Um, my apologies," Merlin gestured towards the door, "I'm Merlin, Prince Arthur's new servant?" She grew even more nervous when the servants continued to look at her blankly. "I was told to come here so I could learn about my duties."

That finally had the servants moving and she watched as a slightly older woman stood and walked towards her. Merlin sighed out in relief, happy that everyone was going back to what they were doing before she had barged into the room.

The woman made it to where Merlin was standing by the door and smiled up at her. " Hello, Merlin," the woman greeted and gestured for her to walk out of the door before following behind Merlin. "I'm Edith, I'm one of the laundresses here. One of your chores as the prince's personal servant will be to bring his clothing, sheets, or anything of his that needs washing to this room down here." Edith pointed towards a door on the other side of the corridor that was slightly open and voices could be heard coming from inside. Merlin nodded in understanding and followed Edith as the other woman pointed out different rooms that she would need to know as a servant in the castle. She was starting to feel overwhelmed with it all, but she made sure to follow along. She might not have wanted to be Arthur's maidservant, but if she couldn't get out of it the least she could do was properly learn what was expected of her.

As the two walked through the different corridors, Merlin noticed how many servants stopped to stare at her and Merlin couldn't think of a reason for it.

Noticing her confusion, Edith explained, "Many of them were at the banquet last night." That explained everything. "You were a real hero, Merlin. I don't believe anyone else could have done what you did," Edith praised, causing Merlin to blush.

"Oh, no, it was nothing. Really, if anyone else had been close enough they would have been able to pull Arthur out of the way," Merlin said.

"If you say so," Edith told her with a look that showed that she didn't believe Merlin. The two continued walking as Edith explained what Merlin's different chores would be as Arthur's maidservant. By the end of Edith's explanations, Merlin was ready to call it a day. As they began walking back to the castle, Merlin stopped when she noticed a small opening by the castle walls and she walked towards it, feeling curious when she saw a pair of servants enter.

"What's in there?" Merlin asked Edith, who was looking at her amused at her curiosity.

"You remind me so much of my daughter, Trea. Always curious about everything that one," she told Merlin, huffing in fondness. "That's the gardens," Edith said, and waved an arm towards it in invitation. Grinning, Merlin entered through the opening and came upon a wonderful sight.

"It's beautiful," Merlin said in awe. She had never seen so many different flowers in the same place before and she was sure that she was practically beaming in joy as she walked further into the gardens.

Edith came up behind her and told her, "Almost anything you may need can be found in here, however, it all really belongs to the royal family and courtiers. The kitchen gardens are in the back, but as the prince's servant I'm sure you won't need much use for it."

Merlin barely listened to Edith as she continued walking down the gardens. As they walked towards the back, she noticed that there were medicinal herbs planted there. If these were here, Merlin wondered why Gaius had her buy them from the market. Fresher herbs were always better, especially when it came to medicine.

Merlin pointed towards the plants and asked, "Those herbs, are they for the court physician?"

"They are, but he rarely ever gets them anymore in his old age. I believe he buys them down in the lower town now. Why?" Edith looked at her, confused at her question, but Merlin just shook her head, telling her that it wasn't important. Edith didn't look convinced, but she let it go as she looked towards the castle. "If you will excuse me, Merlin, I must be heading back to the castle. You know where to find me if you have any troubles. Feel free to stay as long as you want." Edith smiled up at Merlin, who had been planning on following the older woman back to the castle.

While Edith hurried back towards the gardens opening, Merlin continued her way back at a slower pace. Smiling, Merlin softly ran her fingers over the flowers, enjoying how they felt on her fingertips. When she looked up she noticed four giggling women huddled up by one of the seating areas watching a pair of knights patrolling the gardens. Merlin looked at the knights and rolled her eyes, amused when she realized who they were. Just as she had seen them, they too became aware of her. She watched as Sir Frederick and Sir Josef walked towards her, laughing slightly when they gave her a small bow.

"Well if it isn't Sir Frederick and Josef," Merlin said, smiling cheekily up at the two knights.

Sir Frederick rose a brow at her greeting. "Josef?" He asked, looking towards a smug looking Josef. "If you're calling him Josef, then it is only right for you to call me Frederick." It was his turn to look smug when Josef glared at him.

"You know, when you two dragged me down to the dungeons, I didn't think that it would lead to me being on friendly terms with either of you," Merlin teased, smirking at the men.

"I wouldn't say we _dragged_ you," Frederick told her, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"I have the bruises to prove it," Merlin shot back, amused.

"We didn't leave bruises," Josef said confidently. "Did we?" He asked after a slight pause, but rather than answering him, Merlin just grinned up at the two knights, finding their squirming humorous. She let out a laugh when they realized that she was just teasing them and they glared down at her.

"How is it that you can make us feel guilty for doing our job?" Frederick asked her, feeling perplexed at the situation.

"Maybe because deep down you believed that I was doing everyone a favour," she told the knight, who raised his brow in disagreement. "Okay, so it probably wasn't a good idea to insult your prince," she conceded, "but-"

" _Our_ prince?" Josef asked, interrupting Merlin. "Is he not yours as well?"

"Oh, well he is now, isn't he?" Merlin questioned, tilting her head in thought. It hadn't crossed her mind that now that she was living in Camelot, the prince was now her prince, and she couldn't keep denying him as her future king. But to be fair, Merlin was from Ealdor, which was a part of the kingdom Essetir, meaning that until recently King Cenred had been _her_ ruler. Merlin shrugged and told the knights, "I'm not from Camelot, in fact the day the prince had me thrown in the dungeons was my second day here."

"That explains a lot," muttered Fredrick to Josef, who nodded in agreement.

"You must feel proud though, Merlin," Josef told her and continued when she looked confused at his words. "We weren't at the banquet, but we heard about what you did. You saved Arthur's life." Merlin huffed in annoyance, wishing that people would just stop talking about what she did. She was there, she knows what happened. Josef, however, ignored her and said, "To think that on your second day in Camelot you insulted our prince and now you are being rewarded the privilege of being his maidservant."

Merlin's face twisted in disbelief at the proud look the knights currently had on. "I wouldn't call it a reward," Merlin mumbled so the knights couldn't hear her.

She didn't know how long they stood there talking before Frederick and Josef had to leave to their next post. Merlin bid them goodbye and went back to admiring the royal gardens. As she walked, she noticed a flash of movement and she looked up to find one of the women that she had seen earlier gesturing for her to come near. Merlin looked around her to make sure that the light-haired woman was calling for her and not someone else.

She nervously made her way towards the four women that were staring at her avidly. Considering how these women held themselves and how they were dressed, Merlin could only assume that they were noblewomen and their interest in her made her uneasy.

"H-hello, my ladies," Merlin greeted, giving a slight curtsy to the women who were too busy staring her up and down.

"How do you know Sir Frederick?" asked one of the women, who had the loveliest red hair that Merlin had ever seen.

"Pardon?" Merlin asked, confused.

The same woman sighed before responding, "Sir Frederick, one of the knights you were talking to just now. How do you know him?"

Merlin looked back towards where she had previously been talking to the knights to gather her thoughts before turning back to the ladies. "He was one of the knights who put me in the dungeons. Josef, I mean Sir Josef, was the other."

"You're a criminal?" The fair-haired woman asked, scandalized that they might be talking to someone unsavoury.

"No, no, no," Merlin was quick to deny. "I just spoke out of turn with the prince, even though I didn't know he was the prince when I did so." She felt a slight sense of relief when the ladies believed her and didn't turn her away in contempt. Instead, the women chose to focus on the one person Merlin wasn't particularly fond of.

"Prince Arthur, isn't he just so dreamy?" asked one of the dark-haired women in the group, and the other ladies giggled in agreement.

Merlin had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at what the dark-haired lady said and muttered, " _That_ is completely subjective." She did not know why anyone would willingly put dreamy and Prince Arthur in the same sentence.

Once they got their giggling under control the four ladies turned back to Merlin and began moving around to open a spot for her. The red-haired lady gestured to the spot and said, "Go on, sit down. No need for you to have to stand while we question you." The women laugh slightly at the lady's words as Merlin hesitantly sat down.

"Question me about what?" Merlin asked, feeling worried about what the ladies might ask her.

"Sir Frederick of course," one of the ladies said. "Is he by any chance courting you?"

Merlin's eyes widened in shock and she laughed in surprise that these ladies were asking her such a personal question. "Of course not," Merlin denied, and she noticed the look of relief that passed through all four women. Feeling curious, she asked, "why did you want to know?"

Unsurprisingly, it's the red-haired woman who responds, Merlin assumed that she was the leader of the group. "Amirah," she gestured to the only lady that had yet to say anything, "has taken a bit of a liking to the knight, and she's been hoping that he would court her." Lady Amirah blushed as the others giggled.

"Oh, I don't know him all that well—I've recently just met him—but he seems very sweet, I'm sure if you brought it up with him." Merlin immediately regretted what she said when she noticed the incredulous looks the ladies were giving her. "Or not," she uttered.

"Where _are_ you from?" The dark-haired woman huffed in disbelief. "A lady must _never_ make her interest known to those she might take a liking to. It is a man's duty to court his beloved, not the other way around. Is it not the same for those in _your_ station?" Merlin looked at the lady in shock and blushed in embarrassment. It wasn't like Merlin knew how these things worked. Her mother didn't think it important enough to teach her about courting anyone and the village girls always went out of their way to ignore her very existence.

"I wouldn't know," Merlin admitted sheepishly. "I don't have much experience with courting, and I've never really ever spoken to any of the girls from my village who have been courted." This seemed to surprise the four women, who seemed to take her lack of knowledge as a personal offence.

"You mean that no man has ever tried courting you?" Lady Amirah asked softly and the other women laughed at the very thought.

Their laughter stopped, however, when she responded with a short "No."

Merlin tried not to fidget when the ladies stared at her in disbelief. She didn't understand why they were so surprised that she had never been courted before. All they had to do was get to know her a bit more and they would understand. At least that's what the girls in her village would always tell her. When Merlin told this to the ladies she was alarmed to see the look of annoyance that crossed their beautiful faces, and she wondered whether she had overstepped her place by talking so much about herself.

Before she could apologize, she was startled when the dark-haired woman next to her huffed and said, "Women can be so cruel to one another if they feel threatened and looking at you it doesn't surprise me that the girls in your village didn't take kindly to you."

Merlin looked confused and was slightly offended at her words. What did she mean by ' _looking at you_ '? She looked down at herself to see if she could see what the other woman saw, but could find nothing wrong other than her shabbier dress that seemed odd compared to the fine dresses the noblewomen were wearing.

"You're confusing the poor girl, Nesrin," the red-haired woman said when she noticed Merlin's lost look. Lady Nesrin just smirked in amusement and tilted her head to signal for the other woman to continue for her then. The lady only sighed before smiling to a nervous looking Merlin. "It seems a bit silly for us to continue without introducing ourselves. I'm Lady Rhosyn. Next to you is Lady Nesrin." She gestured to the lady on Merlin's right, who grinned teasingly at her. She moved down to the next lady. "Lady Amirah."

With a shy smile, Lady Amirah directed to Merlin, "A pleasure to meet you."

"And next to her is Lady Brina." The fair-haired woman gave Merlin a soft smile and nodded her head in greeting.

Merlin rose her brow in bemusement and blushed when the other women stared at her expectantly. Right, they were waiting for her to introduce herself. "I'm Merlin. No title," she tried joking while waving her hand in front of her.

While the others gave her an odd look, Lady Nesrin laughed before wrapping her arm around hers and said, "Oh, I knew I was going to like you." Merlin jumped in surprise when Lady Nesrin grabbed her hand and turned it over. "You don't look or act like most peasants. If not for your clothing, we might not have known you were one. Even your hands are smooth. Definitely not the hands of a commoner."

Merlin looked at her perplexed, wondering why she was telling her this. Noticing her look, Lady Brina explained, "She's referring to what we were talking about earlier, before Lady Rhosyn introduced us to you. About why the girls in your village treated you differently."

Merlin hummed in understanding and carefully pulled her hand out of Lady Nesrin's grasp, not wanting to offend her. As for her hands, it wasn't like Merlin could tell her that the reason why they were so smooth was because in Ealdor she would always do her chores with magic whenever she could. Merlin _hated_ having to do her chores growing up.

Thinking of what to tell them, Merlin said, "Some of the boys in Ealdor were always kind enough to help with my chores so I never really developed the hardened skin that most peasants do." It wasn't technically a lie as the boys in her village always offered to do her chores for her, but Merlin always denied them, finding it strange that anyone would want to do more work than they had to.

Lady Rhosyn rose a brow and asked, "Yet you were never courted?"

Merlin huffed in irritation. "Of course not." She didn't know how many times she had to deny it before it was understood that no one was interested in her. Rather than feeling slighted at her irritation the other women chuckled at her.

"You're so cute when you're being oblivious," Lady Nesrin told her, patting her arm and Merlin frowned at her statement. She wasn't being oblivious at all.

"If we are done debating whether Merlin has or has not been courted," Lady Brina interrupted, "we should bring up the reason why we had her come to us in the first place." Merlin smiled, amused when the ladies pulled themselves together with a look of concentration crossing their graceful faces.

"Sir Frederick?" Merlin asked, remembering what they had originally asked of her when she had walked up to them. She looked around her to make sure no one was nearby to hear them and was shocked to see that the garden was completely devoid of other people.

When Merlin turned back to face the others she was quick to notice the slight blush on Lady Amirah's pale face that was brought on by the mere mention of the knight. She wasn't the only one to notice as the other women cooed at how besotted Lady Amirah was for Frederick.

"If you can not court Frederick yourself, can you not have someone else ask in your place? One of you could just ask whether he's interested in Lady Amirah or not. Or at the very least one of you can just point him to her," Merlin hesitantly suggested.

"That's a marvelous idea!" Lady Rhosyn exclaimed and Merlin was happy to see the others grinning at her.

"But it has to be you Merlin," Lady Amirah told her and her eyes widened in bafflement. When the others looked like they were about to agree, Merlin shook her head in refusal.

"No, no, no, I can't. Really."

"Merlin, you're the only one who knows Sir Frederick. Either way it wouldn't be proper for us to be seen alone with another man, let alone a knight. I'm married, Brina is betrothed, and Nesrin is in the middle of being courted by her very own knight. Think of the scandal it would cause." Throughout Lady Rhosyn's reasoning, Merlin felt dread rise through her when she realized that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Of course she could refuse to help, but how could she when she could see Lady Amirah's eyes flashing with hope?

Merlin sighed in defeat. "Alright I'll do it," she tells them and laughs when the ladies squealed in delight. " _But_ ," she cuts in, "it will have to be at my own pace. I can't just walk up to him and ask him to start courting Lady Amirah."

"Of course," Lady Amirah was quick to agree. "I can't thank you enough for doing this Merlin."

"Don't thank me yet," Merlin uttered. "At least not until I can send Frederick your way," Merlin added with a teasing grin that had the others smiling in return.

"Well that settles it," Lady Nesrin cut in to the amusement of the other women and Merlin turned curiously towards Lady Nesrin and tilted her head in question. "If you're willing to help us then it's only right that we keep you as our friend."

"Oh no, you shouldn't feel obligated to do so. I'm happy to help, really."

"Don't be ridiculous Merlin, Nesrin is right. We're more than happy to call you our friend, especially after your willingness to help Amirah. That's what friends do, isn't it?" Lady Rhosyn rose a delicate brow, daring Merlin to refuse her claim, and she felt a tightness in her throat as she processed what these women were telling her. They barely knew her and here they were telling her that they were now friends. She found her reaction ridiculous, especially when she began to think about how other people didn't get emotional at the thought of making new friends. But to be fair, Merlin never had friends of the same gender before. Not until she came to Camelot that is. Then everything just changed for her. Yes her time in the city didn't start off so well when taking her time in the dungeons into consideration and everything that happened in between with Arthur, but coming to Camelot also allowed her to meet Gwen and Morgana and now these four women, who had yet to tire of her. Merlin couldn't help but wonder what was so different from Ealdor and Camelot that made it easier for her to make friends with women that didn't turn her away.

"Are all nobles this kind to those below their station?" Merlin couldn't help but ask. "Because I have heard from many who would claim otherwise." In fact, before Merlin made her journey to Camelot, many of the villagers were more than eager to tell her about how nobles tended to treat those who didn't have the same status as them, yet here these women were, proving them wrong.

"Have you met many nobles?" Lady Amirah asked curiously, shifting closer to Merlin.

"I met Sir Olwin my second day here as well as Sirs Josef and Frederick. I of course met Arthur, but I don't really wish to count him. I also had the pleasure of meeting Morgana and she was especially kind to me." After listing all those she had met since her arrival in Camelot Merlin was puzzled when the ladies faces twisted in disdain.

Before Merlin could ask what caused the reaction, Lady Brina spoke up and asked her, "You've met Lady Morgana?"

"Um, yes." She said, making it sound like a question, feeling lost with how their conversation was turning out. Debating whether she should point it out or not, Merlin decided to let her curiosity take over. "Going by your reaction, I'm going to guess that you all aren't particularly fond of her."

"It wouldn't be proper to say." Lady Amirah said diplomatically, even though what she thought of Morgana was clearly written on her face as well as on the other ladies that surrounded Merlin.

Not understanding what their issue was with Morgana, who had been nothing but kind to Merlin since she's met her, Merlin told the ladies what Gwen had told her during the banquet. "I've heard that she could possibly be the future queen of Camelot."

If it was true, then she wondered whether that was the reason why these women didn't like Morgana. Like the girls in her village, she wondered whether they were jealous that Morgana might one day become queen. Had Lady Nesrin not told her that women could be cruel to each other if they felt threatened? Merlin was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Lady Nesrin scoff besides her and her eyes widened in surprise.

When she looked over to the lady in question, Lady Nesrin answered, "I doubt it. There may be something there between Arthur and Morgana, but not enough for him to make her his queen, trust me." Merlin's brows furrowed in thought as she listened to the women agreeing to Lady Nesrin's claim.

She watched as Lady Rhosyn looked around her to make sure that no one was near—even though the gardens were now empty of other people—and when she saw no one, she shifted forwards and said in a hushed voice, "Just between us, I don't think that Lady Morgana has it in her to _be_ queen. I hear that Uther has had trouble making her fulfill her duties as the lady of the castle. Can you imagine the horror of making her do the duties that are required of the queen if she can barely do them now?" As Merlin processed what she was hearing, the other ladies were busy sniggering at the thought of Morgana becoming queen of Camelot.

"If anything," Lady Nesrin began, "the Lady Morgana enjoys the benefits that are granted to her as the king's ward. I'm sure she would enjoy them just as much if she were made queen, but the truth is that there is more to being queen than sitting on a fancy throne. I'm not sure that Morgana would be able to keep up with her responsibilities and I believe Arthur is well aware of that."

Even though she didn't like it, a small part of Merlin wondered whether they were telling the truth about Morgana's work ethic. But that still didn't answer why the ladies didn't like Morgana. It was clear that they didn't believe that Morgana would ever become queen, and as they spoke, Merlin could hear no jealousy in their voice. That only confused her further because she couldn't find a reason for why anyone would despise the Lady Morgana, especially since she treated Merlin with respect and kindness, but if she were being honest with herself, Merlin only just met Morgana, while the ladies knew her longer. It was completely possible that something might have occurred between the ladies that wasn't any of Merlin's business.

As soon as she had come to the realization that she shouldn't question it further, Merlin unsurprisingly blurted out, "If it's not because of Morgana becoming the future queen, then what is it about her that you all don't care for? She isn't all that bad. Maybe she has her faults—if she does, I wouldn't know them— but what has she done to gain such contempt from the four of you?" Luckily for her, the women didn't seem offended with her questioning. Instead they looked at each other, clearly having a private conversation between themselves, before they all turned back to her.

"Never mind what she's done, it's not important for the time being," Lady Brina told her, smiling softly at her. "Our reasons are our own and it would be ill-mannered of us to continue to speak badly about someone who sounds like your friend and for that we apologize." Merlin was floored at the sincerity in Lady Brina's apology and at the contrite look that the others had on.

"It wasn't our intention to offend you Merlin," Lady Amirah told her and spoke over Merlin when she tried to tell them that it was unnecessary. "Just ignore what we've told you. You shouldn't have to base your judgment on the Lady Morgana from our mere gossip. If you find that you enjoy her company then rest assured that it won't affect our own friendship." Merlin must have looked ridiculous with the openmouthed look she currently had on, but she couldn't be bothered to care much about it.

After Merlin accepted their apology, even though she thought that it wasn't needed—they hadn't offended her at all, just made her more curious—they were all quick to change the conversation to something that they could all take part in. Merlin couldn't help her amusement when the four women learned that she could read and loved learning above everything else. She could understand their disbelief since it wasn't all that common for people like her to have such knowledge.

"We didn't know you were so knowledgable, Merlin," Lady Brina had told her when they had her list every book she had ever read.

"Do you know how to write as well?" Lady Amirah asked her, and Merlin couldn't help but blush at the attention the women were giving her.

"Of course. I had a bit of an obsession growing up, where I wanted to learn everything I could. We had travelers who passed through Ealdor and they were always willing to teach me their skills if I asked them. Writing just happened to be one of them and it was easier to learn since I never really had many friends to distract me," Merlin confessed to the women, who seemed impress by her dedication, even if at times she had no other choice.

They continued to talk amongst themselves before Merlin felt Lady Nesrin shiver besides her. It was then that she noticed how late it was getting and she snorted in amusement when she realized that for the second time the day went past her without her knowledge.

"It's getting a bit chilly isn't it?" Lady Nesrin asked, pulling the others attention to their surroundings.

Lady Rhosyn chuckled as she saw the day coming to an end. "It seems the day has passed us ladies. We should probably be heading back to our chambers now. I'm surprised my husband hasn't sent out a search party yet."

Lady Brina leaned forward and told Merlin, "Lord Francis can be a bit overprotective of his Rhosyn." Merlin and the others laughed as Lady Rhosyn huffed in mock annoyance.

"And your Benjamin isn't the same?" Lady Rhosyn teased as everyone stood from where they had been sitting and made their way towards the entrance to the gardens. On either side of her both Lady Nesrin and Lady Brina wrapped their arms around hers and matched her steps as they walked out together.

"Farewell, Merlin," the ladies said as they exited the gardens and prepared to go their separate ways.

"Farewell, my ladies," she told them as she gave them a small curtsy, causing the others to laugh when it came out awkwardly since both Lady Nesrin and Lady Brina still had their arms wrapped around hers.

As they disentangled themselves, Lady Amirah turned to Merlin and told her, "We meet here at least once a week Merlin, so we expect you to join us when you can. We would ask you to come _every_ week, but I'm sure you'll be busy with being Arthur's maidservant and all."

When questioning Merlin about herself, they had learned about her interactions with Arthur and had found it amusing that she was Arthur's new servant. While they felt sorry for her, they didn't seem to share the same feelings she did towards the prince, but she couldn't blame them for it because she was sure that Arthur treated those with a title better than those beneath him. She also couldn't be surprised as they _had_ called him dreamy and practically swooned at the mere mention of him.

After saying their last minute goodbyes, Merlin went on her way and made her way back to Gaius's chambers. As she did so she wondered whether Gaius even noticed that she had been gone all this time or if he too had lost his sense of time. One thing she learned about the old man was that once he got started on his work, he was completely lost to the world.

When Merlin entered the physician's chambers she was surprised to see that no one was there, and as she made her way to her own room she couldn't help but wonder where the old physician went. Guessing that he might have gone to the lower town again, Merlin entered her chamber and quickly undressed for the night and proceeded to stretch happily on her bed before groaning when she felt a lump underneath her blanket.

Reaching for the lump she was surprised to see her spell book and felt confused as to what it was doing there, until she remembered that she had stuffed it there after rushing out in the morning to speak with Gwen before the girl got too busy with work. Pulling the book out, she opened it to the last page she had been reading the night before after she got back from Arthur's chambers. She ran her fingers through the pages as she greedily took in every word.

She was busy studying a spell that allowed one to move objects with their mind when Gaius walked in to tell her goodnight. Once again feeling surprised, Merlin closed her book and looked out the window to see that it was already dark outside. Not wishing to be woken up to streaming sunlight again, Merlin stood and closed the window slightly enough to let some of the night air to come in.

Feeling satisfied that she wouldn't get a rude awakening in the morning, Merlin readied herself for bed before she proceeded to dig herself beneath her blanket, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. While closing her eyes, Merlin remembered that the next day marked her first day as Arthur's maidservant, and she couldn't help but wish that nothing would go horribly wrong.

Before falling into a deep sleep, the last thought that crossed her mind was, _at least there is going to be a tournament to look forward to. How bad can that be?_


	6. VALIANT (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like forever, but here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Hopefully I won't take as long for the next chapter :)

_In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young girl. Her name: Merlin._

The next day found Merlin following Arthur down to the castle ramparts while struggling with the armour that he had her wear. She had gotten odd looks from those that they passed on their way, and she wondered whether it was due to the armour she had on or the long sword that she was holding away from her. Her and sharp objects just don't mix well.

Merlin still found Arthur's request odd and wondered whether this was normal or if he was just trying to punish her. It wasn't like she meant to oversleep and forget to prepare Arthur for the day. Merlin was new to being a servant and she was only given a day to learn about her new responsibilities. Did Arthur really expect her to become an expert in just one day?

The only upside was that he at least allowed her to change into her trousers and tunic as it would have been uncomfortable to be in a dress while wearing armour. However, she still felt apprehensive for what was to come since she wasn't sure what they were going to be doing. She didn't like that Arthur refused to answer any of her questions.

"Is this really necessary?" Merlin asked the prince, who smirked at her when she tripped from the unfamiliar weight.

"The tournament is tomorrow, and I need to train if I want to win. _Not_ that I don't think I will, mind you." Merlin found it just as amusing as she did annoying in how sure of himself Arthur was.

"That I understand," she said, huffing in frustration when Arthur made her carry his sword and shield. "What I don't understand is why you made me dress like this." She gestured to herself as much as she could while trying not to drop anything.

"Hey!" she cried out in shock, stumbling when Arthur stopped suddenly and turned to face her.

"Watch where you're going," Arthur growled while reaching out to steady her.

" _You're_ the one who stopped with no warning what so ever, and how do you expect me to see anything out of this helmet you had me wear for no apparent reason?" Merlin pointed aggressively towards the aforementioned helmet and immediately regretted it when the shield and swords she was holding threatened to tip over and fall from her arms.

Rather than respond, Arthur looked around before nodding and said, "This seems like a good spot."

"Right," Merlin drew out, looking down at the hand that was resting on her arm and rose a brow when Arthur realized that he was still touching her and withdrew his hand back as if he had just been burnt. She looked upwards, wishing for patience, before turning in circles to take in her surroundings while asking, "And _why_ are we here?"

"I told you, we're here to train. You can put that down for now." Arthur gestured to the pile that was in Merlin's arms and while still taking in the scenery Merlin let everything fall onto the floor. "Are you mad!" Arthur exclaimed while throwing his hands up in disbelief. "Why did you do that for?"

Merlin's brows furrowed in confusion and pointed down at the pile and said, "You told me to put it down."

Arthur stared at her, openmouthed before scowling. "And tell me _Mer_ lin, where in all of that did I tell you to _throw_ everything onto the ground."

"I didn't throw it sire, I merely let them fall to the ground. Do you wish for me to pick them up and softly lay them down one by one for you?" Merlin knew that she was practically toeing the line of impertinence, but she didn't understand what the problem was. It wasn't like anything was damaged. She couldn't help the slight smirk that graced her face when she noticed Arthur glowering at her.

"Pick up the shield. That is if you can handle that without breaking anything."

Merlin huffed and bent down to pick the shield up. "Nothing broke you prat," she muttered underneath her breathe.

"What was that? Did you say something?" Merlin looked up to a glaring prince and she gave him a cheeky smile.

"Nothing sire, just wondering what we're doing is all." She took a step back when she noticed the arrogant smirk growing on the prince's face, and she immediately knew that she wasn't going to like whatever he tells her.

She was proven right when Arthur went to pick up the two swords—what was the point of having her put them down only to have them picked up again?— and shoved one towards her and said, "I already told you. _We_ are going to be training."

Merlin looked up in shock, and rapidly shook her head back and forth, accidentally knocking her helmet off. Catching it before it could fall to the ground she looked to Arthur and told him, "No, no, I will _not_ be training with you." She tried giving the sword and shield back, but Arthur only stepped back with a smug look.

He held his sword up as Merlin struggled with the sword and helmet. "Ready?" he asked her while he twirled his sword around.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that I said no?" Merlin asked, practically pleading him to let it go, however, his smug look only grew on his arrogant face.

"Of course." Merlin glared at Arthur as she put her helmet back on and held the shield close to her body. She didn't feel like being skewered with Arthur's sword.

Holding her sword up, she let out a short squeal when Arthur charged forward. "Body. Shield. Body. Shield."

Trying to keep up, Merlin moved backwards trying to get away from Arthur's constant hits. At this point she felt completely lost and wished that this torture would soon come to an end. "Shield," she cried out, having forgotten where they left off.

"Head," Arthur called out and hit her helmet with his sword causing a ringing to fill inside the helmet causing Merlin to cry out.

"Head? Ow that hurt you prat!" Merlin exclaimed forgetting about propriety for the time being. Merlin shook her head to try and clear it.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur taunted. "You're not even trying." While she was distracted, Arthur made it behind her and hit her bottom with the blade.

Merlin jumped forward in surprise and turned to face the prince. "Ow! Watch where you put that thing, will you?" Merlin glowered at Arthur when he only laughed and held his sword up, preparing to attack again. "And of course I'm not trying _._ One, I don't want to do this, and two, _some_ of us haven't been 'trained to kill since birth'. Why bother when I don't stand a chance."

Arthur stopped and gave Merlin a once over. An odd look crossed his face before disappearing and he became focused once more. "Come on, Merlin. Lift your sword up. You may not stand a chance, but that doesn't mean you can't learn to at least hold a sword without hurting yourself."

Merlin groaned when Arthur moved towards her and on instinct she rose her shield to cover herself. "Please, not again."

"To the left. To the right. And left." Merlin tried to follow along and for the most part she was able to stop Arthur from hitting her but she became distracted and missed him calling out "head."

"Ow," Merlin groaned out in pain. "Would you stop doing that?"

"It wouldn't happen if you paid attention," Arthur barked out. "You have to do better than that Merlin, I've got a tournament to win."

Merlin came to a stop and threw her arms up in frustration, before bringing them back down in pain. "Then why don't you ask any of your knights to train with you. Isn't that what they are there for?"

Arthur huffed at her ignorance and said, " _No_ , they are there to protect Camelot, and why would I ask them when you are more than capable of doing the job yourself?" Arthur charged towards Merlin again and she had just enough time to bring her sword up in order to stop Arthur's.

"You are clearly enjoying my misery." She grunted as Arthur pushed her back with the force of his sword hitting her shield. "Ow! We can stop at any time, you know?"

"Shield," Arthur called out. "And why would we want to do that?" Arthur gave one last hit to her head and with a shout of pain, Merlin toppled backwards and landed on her back as her helmet rolled off.

"Well that hurt," Merlin grumbled, glaring up at Arthur as he stood overlooking her.

"You're braver than you look. Most servants collapse after the first blow," he told her, smirking at her obvious pain.

"So it wasn't just special treatment then. You do this to a lot of servants? Does it make you feel accomplished or something?" Merlin was blaming this all on the pain she was feeling, but a small part of her enjoyed the flash of irritation that crossed Arthur's face.

"Well get up then. We aren't finished just yet. There's a lot to do still." Arthur smirked as Merlin laid back down and groaned in defeat.

 ****After what seemed like hours of torture, Arthur finally allowed Merlin to escape back to Gaius's chambers. Not wanting to give him any more reason to continue 'training', Merlin prepared to flee back to the castle, but was stopped by Arthur calling her back. Turning back to the prince, she lifted a brow in question.

"Are you forgetting something?" he asked her peeved. When she didn't answer right away he huffed in anger and pointed to where the swords and shield lay on the ground.

"Oh right," she said looking at the pile before looking back up to Arthur. "What do you want me to do with them?"

She watched as Arthur rolled his eyes in irritation and through gritted teeth he told her, " _Take_ them back to the armoury."

"Right," Merlin said, nodding in understanding before rushing forwards and gathering the pile from the ground. This time she looked around to make sure there wasn't anything she was forgetting before rushing off before Arthur could call her back, however, she wasn't fast enough.

"Merlin!" She turned to face the prince again as he moved closer to her. "Remember the tournament is tomorrow. I expect you to learn everything about tournament etiquette by tomorrow morning because I will not have you mess up my chances or there will be consequences, do you understand?" Once he was satisfied that Merlin understood the repercussions should she fail to do what he considered a simple task, Merlin was finally free to go.

Only when she made it back into the city walls, did she finally feel safe enough to slow her steps. Looking over her shoulder once more, Merlin walked towards the armoury at a slower pace, making sure not to drop anything as she walked through the busy lower town. She tried not to groan in pain when she was jostled by passing people and tried to maneuver her way around to make it back up to the palace. Merlin couldn't remember ever feeling this much pain before and she really hoped that Arthur wouldn't put her through something like that again, however, as she hurried to move away from a group of running children she knew that some way or another she was going to end up 'training' with him again.

Pulling the pile in her arms closer to her, Merlin made her way up to the castle and walked towards the armoury, smiling when a group of knights moved to the side to let her pass and enter the room.

"Thank you," she called out to them as she walked into the room filled with weapons and armour. She stopped short when the knights inside the armoury immediately stopped what they were doing and stared up at her. For the second time, Merlin felt perturbed at being stared at by a group of people and this time she hadn't even barged in the way she did with the servant's quarters. As the men stared at her, Merlin noticed that some of the knights were wearing different colored cloaks than the normal Camelot red. It was then that she remembered that other knights from outside the city were coming to participate in the tournament as well.

Giving the men inside the armoury a shy smile, Merlin hurried to put away Arthur's armour and weapons, however, when she stepped close to where the weapons and armour were, she realized that she had no clue where anything went. Since she had been late that morning, Merlin hadn't been the one to retrieve everything from the armoury— not that she would have known what she was expected to get anyway. Now regretting sleeping in, she stood in the middle of the room with a lost expression and missed it when one of the knights came up behind her making her jump in surprise when he spoke. "Do you need help with those, miss?"

She turned around sharply causing her to lose her balance, and she blushed in embarrassment when she heard a knight snort in laughter when Arthur's sword fell from her arms. The knight in front of her raised his arms out towards her and when he was sure that Merlin wasn't going to fall, he bent down and picked the sword that had fallen to the floor. Rather than giving it back to Merlin, who had reached out for it, the knight moved away from her and put it where she assumed it was meant to go.

Before she could protest, the knight returned and began putting the armour away after taking them from her. Crying out in indignation, Merlin followed closely behind the knight, trying to get the armour back, however, after a bit of protesting, Merlin gave up when she realized the man wasn't going to give them back to her. Instead the knight continued around the armoury, putting the pieces away while explaining to her where everything went. This came as a surprise to her as she hadn't been expecting to be helped out, especially by a knight that had better things to do than helping out a servant.

When the knight was finished Merlin smiled sheepishly up at him and said, "Thank you." The knight only nodded in response and wanting to get away from the awkwardness, Merlin fled from the armoury and made her way back to Gaius's chambers, wincing at how sore her body felt.

Merlin walked slowly up the stairs that led into the chambers, groaning the whole way now that no one was there to watch her. When she opened the door into the room her eyes instantly landed on Gaius, who was in the middle of swirling a glass vial in his hand. Merlin face twisted and she let out a sneeze at the strong smell of whatever potion Gaius had just finished making. She still didn't understand why the old physician refused to open a window when he was making one of his concoctions.

As Merlin shuffled closer to the old man, Gaius continued swirling the vial filled with a red potion as he chuckled at the sight of her. She must not have looked all that great after what Arthur had her doing. Giving the old man a slight glare, Merlin reached up to flatten down her hair, but gave up when she felt long pieces of hair coming out of the braid she had wrapped around her head.

Still laughing at her, Gaius put his vial down and asked, "So, how was your first day as Arthur's servant?" Merlin huffed as she undid her braid, frowning when dried leaves and grass fell to the floor.

"Is it normal for everything to hurt?" Merlin asked as she made her way to the only empty table and sat down with a groan. Gaius laughed amused and walked up behind her. She jumped in pain when the physician's hands landed on her shoulders and began massaging them. Merlin squirmed slightly, feeling the sensation odd and didn't understand how this was meant to help with the pain.

"It was horrible!" Merlin cried out when Gaius put more pressure on her shoulders. "Honestly, it's really unfair that I have to- ah!" Merlin pulled away from Gaius and twisted out of his reach as her back protested in pain.

"Foolish girl, you're not going to do yourself any good if you keep moving away." Gaius huffed in frustration when she pushed his hands away from coming near her.

"But it hurts Gaius," she protested. "And anyway I don't have time for your torture. The tournament is tomorrow, and I've still got to learn all about tournament etiquette by the morning or ' _there will be consequences'_." Merlin growled out the last part in imitation of the prince, but Gaius didn't seem impressed. Flapping her hand at him, she turned and looked towards the end of the table where she had left the etiquette book that Arthur had thrown at her that morning.

"I don't expect you to know how to read, but I'm sure even you could follow the drawings in here," he had told her before he had sent her away to get changed. Merlin had only been able to glare at the prince, who had turned away from her, before she had stormed off, offended at his assumption that she couldn't read. She had of course chosen to ignore the fact that it was a sound assumption as it was rare for peasant women to get any form of education.

Looking at the book now, Merlin squinted in concentration as she tried remembering the spell she had learned the night before and with a flash of her eyes she casts the spell. " _Onhríne achtung bregdan!_ " Merlin cried out in triumph when the book slid across the table and made its way towards her and with another glance, the book opened to a drawing of the different parts of a knights armour. Before Merlin could pull the book closer, she reached up to protect her head when Gaius reached out to slap the back of it.

"Oi! What do you think you are doing?" Merlin turned to stare at the glowering physician in confusion as she hesitantly lowered her aching arms.

"I'm trying to read up on tournament etiquette," she said, gesturing towards the open book, but Gaius didn't spare the book a glance as he stared down at Merlin.

"Not the book girl. You can't just go casting spells whenever you feel like it, especially when you could have reached for the book yourself."

Merlin frowned and stared down at the open book before turning back to Gaius. "Trust me Gaius, if I could actually feel my arms, I'd have picked up the book myself."

"You didn't seem to have any trouble lifting your arms in order to protect your head," Gaius pointed out, walking around her so they could face each other without her having to turn around.

"Well, that was for self-preservation, wasn't it? You can't fault me for wanting to protect my head from your unjust abuse."

Merlin frowned when Gaius scoffed before raising his brow at her. "Self-preservation you say? What if someone had walked in and saw you casting spells? Where would your _self-preservation_ be then? And what if you do get caught, what do you expect me to do? You have to think these things through before you start using your magic because you simply don't feel like lifting your arms."

Merlin stayed silent as she processed what Gaius was telling her. She knew that she had to keep her magic hidden, it was a lesson that she had learned early on growing up, but sometimes Merlin forgot, usually caught up in her excitement after learning something new. Looking up at the old physician, she winced when she noticed the weary look that took over his weathered face, and Merlin couldn't help the guilt that overtook her.

Biting her lip in thought, Merlin looked to Gaius with a look of determination and told him, "Don't worry Gaius, I'll try to do better. Promise. I don't need you getting into any trouble because you decided to shelter a sorceress during a moment of madness." Merlin smiled when she heard the physician huff in laughter before shaking his head.

"A moment of madness," Gaius muttered as he walked away from Merlin, and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she watched him go back to his potions.

Sighing, Merlin turned back to the book that was laid out in front of her and pulled it closer to her. After reading the same page over and over, Merlin pushed the book away and groaned in frustration. Dropping her head onto the table with a loud thump, she said with her words slightly muffled, "Ah! I save Arthur from being killed and I somehow end up as his servant. How is that fair?"

She heard Gaius pause in the middle of his work, before he went back to mixing. "I'm not sure fairness comes into it. You never know, it might be fun."

Merlin rose her head from the table in order to throw a glare at the old man before dropping her head again, causing her to groan out in pain. Glowering in frustration, she sat up and rubbed her head.

"Fun? How is being hit with swords or whatever Arthur decides to use and being made to learn about tournaments fun? Not to mention the long list of duties that I'm expected to do," Merlin muttered.

But Gaius was still able to hear her as he sighed and told her, "We all have our duties. And that also includes Arthur."

"Yes, yes, I know. He is the future king, but that doesn't change the fact that being his servant is going to be everything but fun." Merlin looked back down at the book that started her frustration in the first place. "How does anyone think that _this_ ," she says, picking the book up to show Gaius, "can teach anyone tournament etiquette?" Merlin dropped the book down onto the table without a care and turned around to face Gaius. "Do _you_ know anything about tournaments? Or anyone else who would be more helpful than that excuse of a book " she asked, pointing at the book behind her.

" _Merlin,_ do be careful with that book. You can't just go around dropping them whenever you like." Merlin just shook off his reproach and stared at Gaius, waiting for his answer. Rolling his eyes, Gaius hummed in thought and said, "I would suggest asking one of the knights, but I'm sure they are too busy preparing for the tournament. You could ask Gwen-"

"Gwen knows about this?" she interrupted and stood from her seat, ready to rush out the door in order to find the older girl, but Gaius stopped her with a look and she dropped back down onto the seat.

"As I was saying," the old physician drew out, "you could ask Gwen, but she too might not be available. Don't forget that she is the Lady Morgana's maidservant and she has her own duties to fulfill, even if you aren't doing yours at the moment."

Merlin furrowed her brows as she listened to Gaius, before they rose in indignation at his comment. "That's not fair. Arthur gave me the rest of the day off until tomorrow. He still had to prepare for the tournament and he told me that he had no need for me except for helping him train this morning. Not that I helped any, unless you count just standing there any help."

Gaius rose one brow and stared pointedly at the book behind her. "That doesn't count," she said. "He only asked me to learn about tournament etiquette by tomorrow morning. Other than giving me this book, he didn't tell me how I was expected to learn. So by me asking you for help, I am still fulfilling my duty."

Gaius didn't look impressed with her reasoning and only stared at her with that raised brow again. "If you wish to find help with this, you will have to do it out there," he told her, gesturing towards the door. "I need to finish these potions before tomorrow for the tournament. There's bound to be people getting injured and I can't afford to be distracted."

Merlin threw her head back in defeat and huffed. However, at Gaius's disapproval, she stood from her seat, grabbed the book from the table, and made her way back outside, determined to find someone to help her with learning everything she needed to learn by the next day. Or she could just waste her time exploring the lower town and hope that Gwen would be free in the morning.

Deciding on the last option, Merlin made her way down to the lower town. As she looked through the different stalls, she realized that there were permanent shops for most craftsmen and merchants. Feeling curious, she walked closer to one of the shops, and Merlin noticed a beautiful wooden box sitting on top of the windowsill. As she examined the box she noticed the detailed carving of a dragon with a single red stone embedded where the eye should be on the top of the wooden box. It was so beautiful, and Merlin couldn't help but reach out and run her fingers down the box, following every curve until she reached the stone.

While entranced with the box, Merlin didn't notice someone coming to stand in front of her. "I see you've lived past your guardian's anger, little birdie."

Merlin jumped away from the window in surprise and looked up to find someone very familiar on the other side. "Borin!" she exclaimed to the beaming man.

"Come in, come in," Borin said, gesturing with his hand for her to go through the doorway. Laughing, Merlin stepped through the door and into the shop, where she noticed pieces of wood everywhere as well as different tools hanging from the wall or thrown haphazardly onto one of the work tables.

"Mind your step, the shop's a bit of a mess at the moment," Borin said as he moved around the shop and cleared a spot for her to sit on one of the benches.

"I can see that," Merlin teased, stepping over a hammer before she could trip over it. She walked over to the bench and sat down, laying down her book on the table before turning to face the older man, who stared at her with a confused look on his face.

"Are you a woodworker?" Merlin asked as she picked up a block of wood that had the beginnings of woodland creatures carved into it. Looking around the table she noticed three other pieces of wood in the same state as the one she was holding.

Borin nodded and took a seat beside her. "That right there is meant for Lord Ulric. He's asked me to make it for his daughter," Borin explained, gesturing to the block of wood in her hand and the other three on the table. "It's going to be a vanity once I'm done with it."

"Your work is really beautiful, Borin," Merlin told him, setting the wood down and looking around the shop to see the finished work he had.

"The best in all of Camelot," the older man bragged with an exaggerated wink, and Merlin couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it. "Between you and me, my craftsmanship is probably the only reason that the worst punishment I get after a heavy night of drinking is time in the stocks. Can't go damaging their best carpenter, can they?" Borin let out a contagious laugh and Merlin laughed along with him.

When they were done laughing, Borin looked at her and pointed down at her, and Merlin looked down to see where he was pointing before she looked up confused. "Now that we have cleared up what I do for a living, I must ask if there is a particular reason for why you are dressed like that." Merlin looked down again and realized that she was still dressed in her trousers and tunic from her training with Arthur.

"Arthur made me train with him today," she explained, pointing down at her tunic like it explained everything, however, that only made Borin look even more confused.

"And _why_ would Arthur make you train with him?"

"Because I'm his new maidservant. Apparently it's part of my duties," Merlin said to a bewildered Borin.

"Maidservant? I was only away for a few days." Borin furrowed his brows in confusion and Merlin tilted her head in thought.

"You weren't here for the banquet with Lady Helen?" she asked and Borin shook his head before responding.

"No, I left after I was let out of the stocks that day we first met. My brother had sent a message asking for my help with something and well he's family, even if he is an idiot. I only just arrived last night, and I can't say that I was asking for the latest gossip."

With his explanation, Merlin found herself relieved that he hadn't been here waiting for her to come and see him—not that she assumed he _had_ been waiting for her, but she did feel guilty for not coming to find him. To be fair it had only been three days since they met, she thought as she began filling Borin in on what he had missed since he's been away. For his part, Borin only sat there in contemplative silence, only interrupting when he needed more clarification.

When she was finished Borin gave Merlin a long look and then shook his head and said, "Only you, little birdie." He huffed in amusement as he continued to look at her, and she blushed at the name. "Only you could insult the prince and then find yourself his servant after saving his life. Is your life _always_ this interesting?"

Merlin smiled sheepishly and shrugged in answer. "I still don't believe it myself. I don't understand how everyone could be so okay with me being Arthur's servant when I'm a girl. No one seems to be questioning it even though I know it can't be all that proper."

Borin hummed and told her, "You will find that the royal family can practically do as they wish and many will just go along with it. You say that King Uther was the one who appointed you as his son's servant?"

Merlin nodded. "It was suppose to be my reward for saving his son."

"Well there you go then," Borin told her and Merlin just frowned in response. "King Uther gave you the position as a reward, no one is going to go against what is meant to be an honour."

"An honour?" Merlin asked.

Borin just huffed and said, "Do you have any idea how rare it is to be rewarded by the king? And to be given such an honourable position? It is considered the highest honour to personally serve one of the royals and because of what you did you were given a position that many people in your station would want. You saved the king's son, the people's future king, and you were rewarded greatly." When Borin saw that Merlin was still not understanding his meaning he reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders and made her focus on him. "Merlin, as Arthur's personal servant you will have the prince's ear and _that_ is why the king's gift is the best thing he could have given you for saving his son's life. _That_ is why no one is questioning Uther's decision, even if you are a girl. So yes, it is an honour."

Merlin sat there in silence thinking over what Borin had just told her. Everything he said made sense to her, and she wondered why someone couldn't have just told her that when she asked why _she_ had to be Arthur's servant. That still didn't mean that she was looking forward to working for the prince and a part of her was having trouble believing that she would have Arthur's ear or whatever Borin told her. Arthur could barely stand her, and she was sure that he wouldn't be listening to anything she told him.

"Well, when you put it that way," she muttered and Borin chuckled, letting go of her shoulders and she granted him a small smile, which he returned before standing from his seat.

"So, if you are Arthur's servant, is there a reason for why you are here and not with him fulfilling your servant duties. Don't tell me that you are shirking off of work, little birdie," he said, narrowing his eyes in disapproval, and Merlin shook her head in denial before reaching for the book she had put down when she had sat down.

"I was given the rest of the day to learn tournament etiquette for tomorrow, but I was having trouble with it." Borin frowned and reached for the book, flipping it open to see the drawings inside. "I can read," Merlin was quick to assure when she saw him glancing at the words in the book. "That isn't what is giving me trouble."

Borin gave Merlin an amused look before handing back the book and asked, "Alright then, what are you having trouble with?"

Merlin looked at Borin with hope filled eyes and asked, "Do you know anything about tournament etiquette?"

"I know enough, but if I don't then I'm sure that book of yours can help us out. Do you mind if I work at the same time?" Borin asked, pointing at his work table and Merlin nodded as she made herself comfortable in her seat. "Okay then, lets start from the beginning, shall we?"

With a beaming smile, Merlin opened the book and the two of them began to work. As Borin explained the different rules and expectations when it came to tournaments, she couldn't help but be interested in what she was learning. She didn't know whether it was because she actually found the talk of tournaments interesting or if it was just because of the way Borin was explaining it to her. When she had been reading from the book, she couldn't seem to grasp all the different rules, but now it all just seemed to make sense to her.

They were only interrupted once when someone came in to ask Borin a question about a cabinet they had bought, but when the person left they continued where they left off until it was time for Merlin to head back to prepare Arthur for bed.

"I hope that helped you. Hopefully you can find someone to help you with the armour," Borin told her as she was preparing to leave.

"Don't worry, I have someone in mind who might be able to help," she told him, reminding herself to make time to visit Gwen in the morning. "Thank you for helping, Borin" she said, giving the man a quick hug, seemingly forgetting about propriety before realizing what she had done. Blushing, she stepped away from the man, who only looked amused at her reaction.

"Don't mention it, little birdie. You know where to find me if you need anymore help." Borin walked her to the door and she wrapped her arms around herself when she felt the cool air coming from outside. Borin frowned and walked away towards a door in the back of the shop. Reaching inside, he came back with an old cloak and handed it to Merlin, who tried to push it back to him. "Take the cloak, Merlin. It's starting to cool down and I can't have you catching a cold because you refused to cover up."

Huffing, Merlin took the cloak and wrapped it around herself. "Thank you," she said again, frowning and Borin laughed as he pulled her in for a hug.

"No need to pout, my child," he said, making Merlin blush at the endearment before glowering up at him.

"I'm not pouting," she denied and Borin only laughed, pushing her gently out the door.

"Farewell, Merlin, and do be careful on your way back to the castle. No detours to the dungeons, okay."

Merlin laughed lightly and stepped out of the shop. "Farewell, Borin."

Pulling the cloak closer to herself, Merlin walked back to the castle and made her way to Arthur's chambers, passing the guards stationed there. Without knocking, she barged into the room and found a bewildered prince staring at her from where he sat at a table filled with books and parchment.

"Don't you knock?" the prince cried out, pointing at the door she had just come through. With a roll of her eyes, Merlin stepped back towards the door and knocked.

"Can I enter?" she asked cheekily, and Arthur glared at her before telling her to close the door.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded more than asked, and Merlin just scoffed and stepped close to his desk, laying the etiquette book on a pile that was close to falling over. Hopefully it will collapse during the night and wake him up, she thought.

"I'm suppose to get you ready for bed," she said, before remembering to add in a quick "sire."

Arthur only glared up at her before sighing and pushing away the document he had been working on when she had barged in. He stood and walked towards the changing screen where he began undressing. Blushing, Merlin went to Arthur's cupboard, pulled out his night clothes and threw them over the changing screen. At Arthur's cry of indignation, Merlin had to force herself to hold in her amusement.

Stepping out from behind the screen, Arthur glared down at her before gesturing towards the bed. "Let's see if you can actually do your job correctly this time."

Merlin huffed and walked to the bed and began preparing it for Arthur. "I hope for your sake that you were able to learn everything about tournaments for tomorrow," Arthur said as he returned back to his desk, where she could feel him watching her. Merlin grimaced and continued working on her current task before pulling away from the bed when she was finished.

"Will that be all, sire?" she asked, hoping that he would dismiss her. Maybe she could get in a few hours of reading her magic book before she turned in for the night.

With a wave of his hand, Arthur looked away from her and told her, "You're free to go." Merlin sighed in relief and turned to leave, but before she could walk out he stopped her and said, "And Merlin, make sure that you aren't late again in the morning. I'm sure you can find a way to manage at least that."

Without turning back to face him, Merlin said though gritted teeth, "Of course, _sire_." Not waiting for a response, Merlin walked out of the room and made her way back to Gaius's chambers.

"Still waiting for the fun part," she grumbled under her breath as she entered her room and fell onto her bed. 


	7. VALIANT (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update! I went camping, got into a bit of an accident, but here is the next part to the "Valiant" episode. I hope you enjoy it and keep reading :) Also is this anyone else's least favorite episode?

The first thought that crossed Merlin's mind when she groggily opened her eyes was that the tournament was happening that day and unfortunately for her she wouldn't be able to miss it. As a girl that came from a small village, Merlin had never seen a tournament before and because of that she couldn't understand its importance. The only thing she _did_ know was that it was part of the on-going celebrations for the end of Uther's war against magic and also that it lasted for three days.

The sound of the tolling bells broke her from her thoughts and it was only then that she was able to hear Gaius outside her room. Taking that as a sign that it was time to start her day, Merlin pulled herself out of her rickety bed, groaning in disappointment as she did so.

As she walked over to her wardrobe Merlin noticed a bucket filled with water near her door and a smile covered her face when she realized that Gaius must have put it there while she had been asleep. With a glance towards the door, Merlin flashed her eyes and steam rose from the bucket as it warmed up. Satisfied, she quickly washed up and after getting dressed, Merlin exited her room and smiled fondly when she noticed Gaius already deep in his work.

Without a word, Merlin made her way towards his work table and plopped down on the only empty seat, laughing slightly when she caused the old physician to jump in surprise. Not even the raised eyebrow could tamper down her obvious amusement, instead Merlin smiled at the old man and greeted him.

"You got in pretty late last night," Gaius noted as he went back to his potions.

Humming, Merlin reached for an apple, frowning slightly when she noticed some bruising on one side of it. Shrugging, she bit into it before turning back to Gaius. "I had to get Arthur ready for the night," she explained as she continued to bite into her apple. Due to the late hour, Merlin hadn't been able to eat anything before going to bed.

"I hope you had time to study up on tournaments," Gaius said while in the middle of gathering different ingredients around the table.

Slightly distracted with what the old man was doing, Merlin responded and said, "Yes I did. I ran into a friend of mine as I was walking through the lower town. He was really kind enough to help me understand that book Arthur had me use. It really was more complicated than it should have been. What's wrong with having more detailed instructions because I could-"

"Friend? I wasn't aware that you have already made friends here," Gaius said, causing her to frown at the interruption.

Setting her finished apple down, Merlin said slightly offended, "I've made plenty of friends. Gwen for example." At Gaius's look, she sighed and said, "I had help from Borin. We met when I was in the dungeons, but I got to know him when we were put in the stocks together."

Gaius rose a brow and said, "Really, Merlin? The stocks are no place for you to be making friends. And Borin you say?" Merlin nodded in answer. "As in the town drunk Borin?" Again Merlin nodded, scowling at the description. Did it really matter if Borin drank more than he should? The older man had been kind to her and had even taken the time to help her when he didn't have to. It was more than others have done for her.

Gaius turned to face Merlin and said, "I don't know whether hanging around that man is such good idea, Merlin. He will only get you into more trouble and someone like you should not be drawing attention to themselves because then people will start talking-"

"And then they'll pay too close attention to me and they might realize I have magic," she interrupted with a groan. Scowling at the old physician, Merlin petulantly said, "Gaius, no matter what I do people will pay attention to me. I'm Arthur's servant, which means people will soon know who I am. And I don't know wether you personally know him, but Borin is a nice man and he hasn't done anything wrong."

Gaius stared down at Merlin and said, "All I ask is that you're careful. You didn't know him before you got here, and yes he may have been a nice man before, but ever since what happened, I can tell you that he hasn't been the same."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Merlin asked, feeling confused.

"It's not my place to say," Gaius told her and turned to work on his potions again. And when Merlin went to protest he only gave her a look and said, "I believe you have somewhere to be, Merlin."

At first Merlin wanted to push the question until she processed what Gaius said. "Oh no, I'm going to be late. Again!"

With only a quick goodbye, Merlin rushed out of the room and made her way to the kitchen in hopes that no one else had gone to wake Arthur yet. She didn't need the prince to yell at her for being late again.

Just as she rounded the corner she noticed a servant holding a tray filled with the prince's food. Throwing her hands up in panic, Merlin ran after the servant, ignoring the looks that the other servants threw at her. She knew that running down the corridors wasn't proper, but in that moment Merlin only cared about reaching the servant before they could make it to Arthur's chambers.

"Hey!" Merlin called out to the servant, who jumped slightly and turned to face her.

"Can I help you?" the young servant asked, nervously pulling the tray closer to him and Merlin smiled, hoping to calm the boy long enough for him to be willing to hand over the tray.

"Hello, is that being sent up to Prince Arthur's chamber?" she asked pointing down at the tray and the servant nodded, giving Merlin an odd look. "Oh well, I can just take that for you. No need for you to go up there." As she spoke, Merlin reached for the tray, frowning when the servant took a step back.

"I have orders to deliver the prince's breakfast directly to him. His personal servant didn't show so I was given the honour of preparing Prince Arthur for the day," the servant said proudly and Merlin smiled sheepishly when the boy mentioned her tardiness. Looking around the empty corridor, Merlin bit her lip as she tried thinking of a way to get the tray from the boy without getting into any trouble.

"And I'm sure you would have done a fantastic job," she started, "but I'm his personal maidservant, Merlin, and as such I have to take his breakfast up for him." Merlin held her breath as she watched the servant frown.

"But you were late," he told her and Merlin winced at the blunt way the boy said it. Yes she was late, but not by much. It wasn't like Arthur would notice if she were a few minutes late. In fact, the prince should be thankful that she was letting him sleep in, especially when he was going to need all the rest he could get before the tournament started.

"Yes, I was," Merlin admitted before continuing and said, "but that was only because the prince had me doing some other task that he deemed more important. I only just finished and I was just on my way to retrieve his breakfast when I saw that you already had it." She probably shouldn't have lied, but Merlin didn't want to be yelled at again for not being able to do her job and if she had to fib a little in order to do so then so be it.

"What sort of task?" the servant asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Uh, well I'm afraid I can't say." Merlin hoped that was enough to get the servant to hand over the tray. She didn't need Arthur waking up on his own and noticing that his breakfast was missing.

In front of her the servant's eyes widened in surprise as his face flushed red. "Oh I-I wasn't aware. Of course I wasn't...none of my business. I, my apologies. It won't happen again. Here you go miss." Merlin frowned in confusion as the servant practically threw the tray into her arms and she struggled to keep it from toppling onto the floor. Before she could say anything, the servant gave her an embarrassed smile before walking hurriedly back to the kitchen.

"Well that was odd," she muttered under her breath as she made her way up to Arthur's chambers.

As she got closer to his room, Merlin looked around, making sure there was no one in the corridor, and with the use of her magic she quickly heated up the food on the tray. Pleased with herself, Merlin walked up to Arthur's room, smiling at the guards stationed close by, before barging in. Humming under her breath, Merlin set the tray down on the long table before she looked up towards Arthur, who was sprawled across his bed. Chuckling at the sight, she walked up to the window beside the huge bed and with a playful smirk she threw the curtains open.

"Good morning, sire," she called out, turning away to hide her amusement when she heard groaning coming from underneath the covers. However, when she didn't hear Arthur getting up, Merlin turned around and walked up to the bed.

" _Merlin_ ," the prince growled out when she proceeded to pull the blankets off of the disgruntled prince.

"Time to get up, sire. Don't know if you have forgotten, but it seems to be an important day today. You know the tournament and all the visiting knights." Merlin probably should have toned down how much she was enjoying this, but it was hard to do so when she saw how much it annoyed Arthur.

Going by the glare that the prince gave her, it was safe to say that he didn't appreciate Merlin's amusement. "Of course I haven't forgotten." Arthur glowered as he rose from his bed, wincing when his bare feet touched the cold floor. Squinting up at her, he said smirking, "I'm actually surprised that you remembered."

It was now her turn to glare as she muttered, "Sort of hard to forget when you kept reminding me."

With another glare, Arthur walked towards the table holding his breakfast and took a seat. Without glancing her way, he gestured to his cupboard while taking a bite out of a piece of bread. Huffing, Merlin walked to the cupboard and started to pull clothes out for Arthur. While the prince ate, she walked around the room and began cleaning up after him, wondering whether she would still have time to visit Gwen before the tournament started. She still needed help understanding the different parts to Arthur's armour and she really hoped the older girl could help her.

After finishing with Arthur's bed, Merlin turned to face the prince and was surprised to see that he was already looking at her. She rose a brow and frowned when she saw him look away. Ignoring his odd behavior, Merlin looked down at his plate and was pleased to see that he was done with his food.

Clearing his throat, Arthur pushed away the tray and said, "If you are finished here you can take this back to the kitchen and then go and gather my armour. The tournament will be starting soon and I expect you to be on time." Arthur stood from his seat and walked towards the changing screen and taking that as a sign that she was free to go, Merlin grabbed the tray and made her way out of the room. If she was fast enough, she might still have a chance to visit Gwen before Arthur needed her.

When she got close to the kitchen, Merlin heard servants talking inside but she was unable to make out what they were saying. As she entered the kitchen she was disconcerted when the conversation in the room stopped when the people inside noticed her. Looking around she noticed that most of the servants were surrounding the young servant she had chased down for Arthur's breakfast and she frowned in confusion when she saw him staring at her in surprise.

Not having the time to question what she had walked into, Merlin quickly dropped the tray off, feeling slightly perplexed as she felt the servants following her every move. With her job done, she made her way out of the kitchen, trying to forget what she had walked in on and walked towards the armoury in order to retrieve the prince's armour.

As she neared the armoury she became nervous when she watched some of the visiting knights pass her and enter the room even though Merlin knew that there was going to be more knights around than usual. Taking a deep breath, Merlin made her way into the room and tried to ignore the way the knights stopped to stare at her. If she were being honest, Merlin was beginning to grow tired of all the staring. It shouldn't have been a huge surprise that she was in the armoury as she had just been there the day before. Even if she hadn't, she was sure that at least the knights of Camelot would be aware of who she was.

Feeling unsettled with the staring, Merlin cautiously made her way deeper into the armoury in order to gather Arthur's armour as fast as possible. Before she could make it far, however, she stopped when she noticed a burly man in a yellow cloak stand from the bench where he had been polishing his sword.

"Well, hello," the man drew out with a leer as he stepped closer to Merlin. He was one of the knights that wasn't from Camelot and there was something about him that Merlin just didn't like, but she couldn't put her finger on the reason for it. "Are you here to give us the Camelot welcome?" The knight came close to her, looking her up and down and Merlin took a step back, her eyes widening in panic. She only wanted to get the armour and leave.

"Sir Valiant, I suggest you step away from the girl." Merlin looked over the knight's shoulder and saw another knight with blond curly hair and she let out a sigh of relief when she noticed his red Camelot cloak. The knight spared her a glance before saying, "She's merely a servant, Prince Arthur's personal servant to be exact. I'm sure you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of the prince when you only just got here." While the blond knight spoke calmly, Merlin noticed him grip the hilt of his sword and was surprised when she noticed the surrounding knights glaring intensely at the back of Sir Valiant's head.

Sir Valiant smirked down at Merlin before he turned to face the knight standing in front of him. "I meant no disrespect, Sir Leon," Sir Valiant said in a tone that belied what he had just told the knight, while he raised his hands in mock surrender.

Merlin looked dubiously at the knight as he walked away before turning back to face Sir Leon, who had become less tense but was still staring after the other knight as he left the armoury.

Merlin gave the knight a small smile and said, "Thank you for that."

The knight nodded in acknowledgment, giving a smile of his own before asking, "Did you need something?"

Flustered, Merlin looked around before pointing to the surrounding armour. "I'm suppose to grab Prince Arthur's armour and bring it to him. For the tournament," she explained, stepping away from the knight and walking towards where she remembered the armour being put the day before.

"Do you need any help?" Sir Leon asked, following behind her and Merlin quickly shook her head as she grabbed Arthur's sword, being careful not to drop it.

"I've got it, thank you." Merlin cried out in triumph when she was able to gather all of Arthur's armour without dropping any of it. Turning around swiftly, she smiled up at Sir Leon and thanked him again before she walked out of the armoury, trying to ignore the knights that were still inside the room. As she made her way out of the castle she looked around the corridors, making sure that she didn't run into Sir Valiant.

Finally out of the castle and weighed down by Arthur's armour, Merlin walked across the square and headed down to the lower town towards Gwen's home. As she neared Gwen's home, Merlin hoped that the older girl would be willing to help her figure out the different parts to the armour she held in her arms. More importantly she hoped that Gwen would be home and would be able to help her because she didn't know anyone else who could.

Walking up to Gwen's door Merlin knocked as best she could and waited for someone to come out. She sighed in relief when the wooden door opened and Gwen stepped out with a confused smile on her face. Merlin smiled sheepishly as Gwen moved to the side and allowed her to enter.

"I'm sorry for just barging in like this, Gwen." Merlin walked to the only table and set down the armour, shaking her arms out now that she was free of the added weight.

"Oh nonsense, you're not barging in Merlin. You're always welcome here," she said as she closed her door and walked up to Merlin. Her confused look came back when she noticed the armour laying on her table.

Merlin grabbed one of the pieces and said, "I need some help figuring out the different pieces to Arthur's armour and how it needs to be put on. Gaius mentioned that you may know and the book I read wasn't all that clear with its instructions." As she explained, Merlin frowned down at the armour like it personally offended her before looking back up at an attentive Gwen. "It's alright if you don't know or if you are too busy. I just thought I would ask before the tournament started."

Gwen smiled softly, picked up the helmet and examined it. "Luckily for you I actually do know a thing or two about armour. As for being too busy, Morgana has given me the morning off while she deals with the tournament preparations."

Setting down the part of the armour that she had been holding, Merlin asked, "Tournament preparations? I didn't know that she helped with that. Is that not someone else's job?"

"Normally it would be the queen's job to make sure everything was running smoothly, however, since Camelot has no queen that job falls to Morgana as King Uther's ward. She's making sure that everything is ready for the feast after the tournament is finished and that Camelot's guests are fitting in comfortably. Now, since the tournament will be starting soon we don't have time to waste." With that Gwen set down the helmet she had been holding and reached for another part before holding it up to Merlin.

As Gwen explained the different pieces of armour she put them on Merlin, showing the younger girl how each piece was put on. During the older girl's explanation, Merlin did her best to keep up, knowing that it was important for her to learn if she was going to be Arthur's maidservant.

"The chest. The arms. The chest," she muttered as she tried to remember all she had learned before she could forget it. While she mentally ran through the different pieces of armour that she had on, Gwen stepped back to the table and grabbed the helmet and gave it to her.

"I hope you know what to do with this," Gwen teased and Merlin chuckled as she put the helmet on her head.

"Yeah, that was the only bit I'd figured out," she said as she wobbled in place. "How can anyone wear this let alone fight in it? It's so heavy and also very uncomfortable."

Gwen giggled and helped Merlin take off the armour. Once the armour was off, Merlin smiled gratefully at the older girl. "It can be a bit heavy, but the knights of Camelot have trained for years so they could use their armour during battle. As for being uncomfortable, you're a bit smaller than Arthur and his armour was made specifically for him," Gwen explained and Merlin nodded in understanding. At least she wouldn't have to wear the armour again now that she knew how to put it on Arthur.

"How is it that you know so much?" Merlin couldn't help but ask while she put the armour into a pile.

"I'm the blacksmith's daughter," Gwen said lifting her hands in answer. "I know pretty much everything there is to know about armour, which is actually kind of sad." As she spoke Gwen's face twisted in embarrassment and Merlin didn't understand why the older girl would feel embarrassed for knowing something that most people had no knowledge of.

"Are you mad? It isn't sad at all. I for one think it's absolutely brilliant that you know your way around armour. It's a very useful skill to have." At her words, Gwen smiled at Merlin in thanks. Returning the smile Merlin gathered the armour and huffed at the heaviness of it. "I should probably head down to the training grounds before Arthur gets impatient. Thank you again for taking the time to help me Gwen. Will you be watching the tournament?"

Gwen waved off Merlin's thank you and said, "I will be sitting in the stands with Morgana, cheering on the knights."

"Well I hope that I'll be able to enjoy it, especially if Arthur has me working the whole time."

After saying their goodbyes, Merlin went on her way and made her way towards the training grounds, hoping that she wasn't too late. As she made her way onto the grounds she looked around in awe when she noticed all the tents and flags showing the different colors for all the knights. Merlin nodded in greeting at those who passed her and walked towards the Pendragon flag where she could already see a pacing Prince Arthur. Grimacing at the sight, Merlin made her way to a fuming Arthur and set the armour down.

"What did I tell you?" Arthur gritted out and continued without allowing Merlin to answer, "I said don't be late, and what were you?"

"I was late?" Merlin answered with a raised brow.

Ignoring her, Arthur said, "The tournament will be starting soon and I seem to be the only one without my armour."

"And you of course needed me to help you put it on," Merlin joked and ignoring Arthur's glare, she began to put his armour on.

As she struggled to get the vambrace on Arthur's lower arm, the prince watched her in disbelief. "You do know the tournament starts today?" Arthur told her while turning his head to look at the visiting knights.

After finally putting the vambrace on and moving onto the gorget, Merlin huffed and restrained herself from rolling her eyes when she muttered under her breath, "How can I forget? You only tell me every other second."

At Arthur's silence, Merlin looked up to a glaring prince. "Did you say something?" he asked, giving her a look that showed he had heard what she had said.

Stepping back after fixing the buckle on the gorget, Merlin smiled sheepishly and asked, "Are you nervous?" while gesturing around to the surrounding knights.

Arthur's glare lessened slightly as he looked around the field and said, "I don't get nervous."

Stepping back to grab Arthur's cape, Merlin said skeptically, "Really? I thought everyone got nervous."

"Will you shut up!" Arthur snapped, causing Merlin to jump in surprise.

"There is no need for that tone," Merlin groused as she put the cape around Arthur and tied it around him. As she did so, she could feel Arthur's eyes on her, which only made her stumble with tying the cape.

Taking a deep breathe, Merlin stepped away from Arthur in order to grab his helmet and hand it to him. "Will you need help putting this on, sire?" she asked sarcastically. Arthur only took the helmet from her grasp and glared down at her. With a sigh, Merlin looked over Arthur to make sure she didn't forget anything. Satisfied with her work, Merlin nodded, waved her hand around and said, "Well I think you're all set now. You can go do whatever it is you do at tournaments."

Rather than making his way to the arena, Arthur just stood in front of Merlin and stared at her in frustration. Confused, Merlin looked at the prince until his annoyance grew and he huffed before saying, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Merlin gave the prince a once over and tried to see what she had forgotten. Losing his patience, Arthur gritted through clenched teeth, "My sword."

Furrowing her brows, Merlin turned to where Arthur's sword was. "It's right over there," she said, pointing at it. When Arthur glared she asked, "Am I suppose to give it to you as well?"

As she walked over to Arthur's sword and picked it up, Merlin couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't grab it himself. "Here you go. Guess you'll be needing that to wave around out there," she said, pointing behind her towards the tournament grounds.

Giving Merlin a look that clearly questioned her sanity, Arthur took the sword from her and marched off. "Wait!" she called out to Arthur, ignoring the bewildered looks thrown at her. "What am I suppose to do now?" Merlin asked under her breath when she saw that Arthur was no longer listening to her.

Sighing, Merlin muttered, "That went well," as she watched Arthur walk towards the tournament grounds, and she followed after him, shaking her head at the prince's reaction. Rather than going to the stands where she could see Gwen and Morgana, Merlin followed those who were competing in the tournament and she stopped at the entrance to the arena, peering around it in order to get a good look.

She watched as King Uther strutted past the front line of knights and once he stopped he turned and faced them. With everyone's attention on their king, Uther looked at the gathering knights and said, "Knights of the realm, it's a great honour to welcome you to a tournament at Camelot. Over the next three days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur." Merlin watched as the knights looked towards Arthur and she had to say that she was impressed at how he was able to keep a blank face at the added pressure.

"Only one can have the honour of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of 1,000 gold pieces." She watched as Uther gestured over to someone who proceeded to open a simple box filled with gold coins. Merlin's eyes widened at the sight of it. She had never seen so much gold before and the thought that anyone could have that much gold easily accessible was strange to her.

"It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior or a coward. The tournament begins!" At his words the crowd began to cheer and Merlin winced at how loud it became. While the cheers of the crowd began to die down the knights exited the arena so the tournament could finally start. Merlin would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited to see the knights compete against each other. Because she grew up in Ealdor, Merlin had never seen a tournament before.

In the arena, Merlin watched as the king stopped Arthur before he could walk away, and she couldn't make out what Uther told his son, but Merlin could see that it affected Arthur. When he was finished, Uther slapped his son's back as a form of encouragement and then stepped out of the arena, leaving his son with his opponent.

Merlin rolled her eyes when she saw a guard step forward and take off Arthur's cape. What was the point of putting it on if they were only going to be taken off in the end? she thought as Arthur and the other knight put on their helmets.

Around the arena, the crowd began to cheer again as Arthur and the other knight began to fight. As the fight picked up, Merlin couldn't help but yell out as Arthur began to push the knight back. "Yeah! Come on!" she cried out, surprising herself as she did so. Who knew a fight could be so exciting?

After a while of cheering on the two knights her cheeks began to hurt with how big the smile on her face was. She watched as Arthur and the knight twisted around each other, trying to get the upper hand and for the first time Merlin could understand why everyone believed Arthur was such a great warrior. As the fight went on, Merlin could barely keep up, however, not long after it had began, Arthur lifted his arm and pulled it back, hitting the knight with his arm, causing the knight to fall to the ground. At his fall, Merlin winced in sympathy and she waited to see whether the knight was going to get back up or not.

Focusing back on Arthur, who stood in the middle of the arena, panting in exertion, while the crowd cheered on, Merlin couldn't help her whoop of excitement and the "yeah!" that came out of her mouth. Before she could do more, she pursed her lips together in embarrassment when she noticed Arthur staring at her with an amused look. She could only think that he must have heard her and she huffed and crossed her arms together as Arthur made his way towards her.

"I see that you enjoyed yourself," he told her, smirking as he stepped closer. "Impressed by what you saw?" Merlin frowned as she heard the teasing tone in his voice.

"Oh yes," she said to the obvious surprise of the prince. "That other knight fought exceptionally well. Very impressive," she continued, smirking slightly at the flash of irritation that crossed his face. "You did well too, I guess," Merlin teased as she followed Arthur out of the arena. Despite her teasing, Merlin had been impressed with Arthur even though she would never tell him. She didn't think that the prince needed a bigger head than the one he already had.

As Merlin watched two knights enter the arena, she rushed to catch up to a retreating Arthur. "Will we not be watching the other fights?" Merlin hesitantly asked, trying to hide her disappointment. She didn't want to miss her first tournament because she had to work for Arthur.

Arthur didn't turn to face her, but he pointed up to where the Pendragon tent stood proudly. "We can watch from up here. Where you _should_ have been watching from the beginning."

Ignoring the last comment, Merlin rushed to Arthur's tent and after grabbing Arthur some water she stood on one of the benches so she could get a clear view of the arena and the fighting knights.

"What _are_ you doing?" Arthur asked bewildered while looking up at Merlin.

"I-I want to see the fight," she said, confused at Arthur's reaction.

"And you can't do it from down here?" he responded before saying, "People are staring." Merlin looked around to see that people were in fact looking at her, but she ignored it and looked down at Arthur. "I can see the arena better from up here. You're taller than me so there's no problem for you, but I don't want to miss anything."

To her surprise, Arthur only rolled his eyes in exasperation, but he didn't make her come down. Instead he shocked her by explaining the different fighting techniques that each of the knights used and she was impressed when he was able to say who would win a fight based on said technique. The only time Arthur made a comment outside of the tournament was when he complained about her cheering on the other knights.

"They're the opponent, _Mer_ lin," Arthur had said. "Your loyalty should be to Camelot."

Frowning in disbelief, Merlin had said, "You mean loyalty to you?" When Arthur didn't answer she continued and said, "You're not even out there anymore." After that she became distracted as the next pair of knights entered the arena and she proceeded to question Arthur about the fight.

Merlin enjoyed watching all the knights fighting each other, mainly because she knew that it wasn't a real battle, however, she felt like her heart had stopped when she recognized one of the knights that entered the arena. She watched as Sir Valiant waved to the crowd before facing his opponent, and she barely registered Arthur staring at her, confused at her sudden silence.

While she watched Sir Valiant, she begrudgingly told Arthur as she stepped off the bench, "Sir Valiant looks pretty handy with a sword." Arthur only glowered when he had to help her after she almost toppled over. In thanks, Merlin started to help Arthur out of his armour without a complaint or mocking him.

After Sir Valiant knocked down his opponent and the bystanders began to make their way out of the stands, she watched as he exited the arena and she noticed the moment that he caught sight of Arthur when he changed directions and made his way towards them with his servant dutifully following behind him.

"Prince Arthur," he greeted and Arthur nodded in acknowledgment, watching him suspiciously. "May I offer my congratulations on your victories today?"

After a slight pause, Arthur responded and told him "likewise." Merlin stifled a scoff at the growing tension between both men and she sighed in relief when Sir Valiant finally broke it.

"I hope to see you at the reception this evening," he told Arthur and Merlin stepped back when the knight glanced her way for the first time since he came to speak with the prince. He looked her up and down with a weird smile on his face before he walked off with his servant.

"Creep," Merlin muttered, and she shared a laugh with Arthur when he snorted in agreement. She looked towards him and smiled before frowning when Arthur went from amused to serious after looking her way.

Her frown turned to confusion when Arthur cleared his throat before saying, "Uh, for tomorrow you need to repair my shield, wash my tunic, clean my boots, sharpen my sword, and polish my chainmail."

"W-What?" she cried out in confusion as she watched him walk away without a glance back. "Wait, how am I suppose to do that if you are walking off with your chainmail?" And practically everything else he asked me to clean, she thought. Merlin threw her hands up in frustration, gathered the armour Arthur _did_ leave behind and followed after the prince. "He _really_ needs to stop walking off like that," Merlin muttered under her breath before catching up to him.

"Don't you have a job to get to?" Arthur chided but didn't stop as he walked back to the castle and towards his chambers.

"I do, but in order for me to do what you asked I need everything you're wearing," Merlin explained while keeping herself from rolling her eyes in exasperation. As the two got closer to Arthur's chambers, Merlin noticed how tired he looked and when a servant passed by she stopped the servant and asked them to have a bath sent up to the prince's room.

"You do realize that it's _your_ job to bring the bath to me, right?" Arthur asked incredulously and Merlin shrugged and continued walking. When they made it to Arthur's chambers, Merlin entered his room with a frustrated Arthur following behind her.

Luckily for her, Arthur didn't waste time changing out of his remaining armour and by the time he was finished undressing three servants had entered and brought in a bath for their prince. Making sure that the water was still warm, Merlin set Arthur's clothes somewhere where it was easily accessible before gathering everything she needed and walked to the door.

"Will you need anything else?" she asked, looking away when Arthur stepped into the bath.

"No, I'll be having supper with my father and the visiting knights later today. Just make sure you do what I asked and I do expect you to be on time tomorrow. No excuses. Also have someone get my bed ready for the night before I turn in." She heard Arthur sigh when he felt the warmness of the water and Merlin blushed and quickly left the room, not bothering to tell him that she could have done it before she left.

She only stopped on her way to her chamber to tell a servant what Prince Arthur had asked before she went directly to Gaius's chamber.

Merlin entered the chamber, and without stopping she went directly to her room. Looking around, she saw that the bucket that she had used in the morning was still there. Dropping everything on her bed, Merlin grabbed the bucket and went out to grab more water from the well. After filling the bucket, Merlin hurried back to her room and started cleaning Arthur's armour. Halfway through she grew tired and glancing to where she hid her magic book, Merlin made the decision to use magic in order to finish faster. Hopefully Gaius wouldn't find out. She really didn't need another lecture from the old physician.

With a cautious look towards her door Merlin brought her magic up to the surface and all of Arthur's armour lifted into the air and began to clean itself. Smiling in success, Merlin grabbed her spell book and jumped on her bed before opening her book to where she had left off. She only stopped to take the time to light the candles in her room when it started to grow dark outside.

She was lost in an interesting part in her book when her door opened suddenly and she let go of her magic in surprise, causing everything to fall onto the floor. When she noticed that it was only Gaius, Merlin breathed out in relief before realizing that it was Gaius who had just walked in on her using magic to finish her chores.

"Are you using magic again?" Gaius questioned in disbelief.

Setting her book to the side, Merlin shook her head and said "no," disregarding the evidence on the floor.

However, Gaius did no such thing when he asked, "What's all this, then?"

Again Merlin shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."

"What have I said about using your magic like this?" Merlin grimaced at the reminder and sat up, getting ready for the inevitable lecture. To her surprise Gaius only sighed and said, "I just came to tell you that supper's ready."

Grinning in joy, Merlin rose from her bed and followed Gaius out of her room. "Oh thank you, Gaius. I haven't eaten anything other than that apple from this morning." While she sat down to eat, she didn't notice the frown that took over Gaius's face.

"You have to make sure to eat, Merlin," Gaius scolded and she froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth.

"But I do eat." And she did. She might not eat as much as other people in Camelot do—she still finds it strange with how much people eat here—but she does take the time to eat when she gets the chance.

Gaius only rose a brow to show how much he believed what she said. After serving himself, Gaius joined her at the table. When they were done Merlin thanked Gaius for supper before she retreated back to her room. Seeing the armour on the floor, Merlin sighed and gathered it up in her arms again. At least she was able to finish her chore before Gaius had barged in. Quickly and cautiously, Merlin took Arthur's belongings back to the armoury where they belonged.

Not wishing to run into anyone, Merlin hurried back to her room and seeing her spell book still laid out on her bed, she debated whether she wanted to continue reading. In the end the yawn that she let out decided for her.

Preparing herself for the night, Merlin blew out the candles in her room and happily laid down on her bed. It had been a tiring day for her and she still couldn't believe that she had two more days of the tournament. Before she drifted off, Merlin hoped that the next couple of days weren't as stressful. 


	8. VALIANT (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it :) IMPORTANT/SEMI-IMPORTANT: 1. There is an interaction between Sir Valiant and Merlin that I don't know if it will affect anyone so I just want to put that out there. If any of you think that I should put a warning please tell me because I honestly don't know if I should (it's nothing super bad. Just him being creepy and not knowing what personal space means) 2. There should be one more chapter for this episode before I move on to the next one. So far I've been writing four chapters per episode and that's mainly because I add extra scenes to make this Merlin seem more real (but that makes the chapters longer) and I also cut the days up, so each chapter is usually a day that happens in the show. So I wanted to ask whether I should keep doing it this way, make the extra scenes or cut the extra scenes so the chapters per episode are less? 
> 
> Anyway, that's it :D Thank you for reading!

"Merlin!"

Merlin turned around at the sound of her name and she smiled when she caught sight of Gwen walking towards her. Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she noticed the older girl looking worried. "Are you alright, Gwen?" Merlin asked, concerned as Gwen walked up beside her.

"I'm alright, thank you, but what about you? Are you okay, Merlin?" Merlin was further confused when the girl continued to look worried as they made their way to the kitchen. She was running a bit late but that didn't matter at the moment as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her friend.

"I'm alright as well. Are you sure you're okay, Gwen? You look a bit worried and nervous if I'm being honest." She watched as Gwen wrung her fingers together, stepping aside when they passed a group of giggling servants.

"Oh yes, I'm fine, but, well I heard something the other day and I didn't want to believe it, but you never know," Gwen said.

Merlin furrowed her brows in confusion and asked, "What did you hear that has you acting like this?"

Gwen cleared her throat and looked nervously at Merlin. "Well yesterday, when I was in the throne room with Morgana—after Uther had greeted all the participating knights—I overheard some servants talking about you."

"About me? What did I do?" Merlin interrupted, feeling upset that people were already talking about her.

"Oh no, no, _you_ haven't done anything. I'm sure it's just a silly rumor that will blow over when the next one comes along. I don't think anyone actually believes it, not that they don't think you're capable of it of course and even if it is true, it's nobody's business but your own.

"Wait, wait, wait," Merlin said, interrupting the older girl's rambling. It took a bit for her to process what Gwen had said, shaking her head in confusion. "What rumor? Gwen, what are you talking about?" Merlin stopped walking and turned to face the older girl. Arthur's breakfast could wait until after she figured out what was going on.

Gwen also stopped walking and looked slightly to the left of Merlin as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Okay, er, the other day two of the servants were talking about how there was a servant telling people that Arthur has taken you on as his mistress."

As she listened, Merlin's eyes widened in shock, feeling bewildered and mortified at what she was hearing.

"Wait, what?" Merlin finally spluttered out. "That's, that's just absolutely absurd. No, it's completely ridiculous. There is no way that I would _ever_ want to be Arthur's _mistress_. I can barely stand the man! The very thought is just laughable." Merlin threw her hands up in disbelief. "You can't honestly believe that I would do that, would you?" Merlin asked Gwen, who immediately shook her head.

"Of course not, Merlin," Gwen said.

"Who would even say such a thing?" Merlin muttered and tried to think back to what she could have done to make people think that she was Arthur's mistress. Merlin shuddered at the very thought of her and Arthur.

She looked towards the kitchen as she thought about the last couple of days. She remembered speaking to a couple of servants but she didn't mention Arthur unless she needed something for him. Merlin's eyes widened in realization as a memory of a boy surrounded by servants crossed her mind.

With that thought, Merlin marched towards the kitchen in hopes of finding the boy and questioning him. Assuming that it was him who was telling everyone that she was Arthur's mistress, what had she said for him to spread a rumor about her? She was barely aware of Gwen following after her as she entered the kitchen and glanced around, hoping to find the boy.

Merlin sighed in disappointment when she didn't see him, but she noticed a door that led to the servant quarters. Taking her chances, knowing that she was already late in taking Arthur's breakfast to him, Merlin made her way inside and her eyes immediately fell onto the young servant, who looked back at her in panic.

"You," Merlin said through clenched teeth, pointing at the wide-eyed boy.

Behind her, Merlin heard Gwen, but she paid her no mind. "Have you been spreading lies about me?" she asked the boy, who shook his head in denial.

"No miss, I haven't," the young servant denied.

"So you had nothing to do with everyone thinking that I'm Arthur's mistress?" Merlin asked, narrowing her eyes in disbelief. She watched as the boy blushed and looked towards the onlooking servants, but Merlin didn't mind them.

"It must be a misunderstanding miss. You see, I-I just assumed, well, you said that you were late because you were busy doing s-something for Arthur." The boy stuttered through his explanation, while taking a step back in order to put space between them. Merlin frowned and tilted her head in confusion.

"And you just assumed I was his mistress because I told you that I was doing my _job_?" Merlin asked incredulously. She knew that she shouldn't have lied to the boy, but she hadn't thought that this was going to happen. Who would? She thought, scoffing at the situation.

"You said you weren't allowed to say," the boy rebutted in defense and Merlin took a step forward in frustration. Before she could do anything, they were interrupted by someone entering the room.

"What is going on here?" Merlin turned to face the newcomer and took a step back when she recognized who it was.

"Edith," she greeted, smiling at the woman.

"Hello, Merlin. Henry." Edith nodded at both Merlin and the boy, who must have been Henry, before asking again what was going on.

"She's gone mad, miss," Henry said, pointing at Merlin as he stepped forward to stand beside her.

At the same time, Merlin spoke up and said, "He's been spreading lies about me to the other servants." However, when she realized what the boy had said, she turned to glare at him and said, "I have not."

"Have too," the boy said, folding his arms in defiance, while looking up at her.

Before they could say anything else, Edith stepped between them and said, "That's enough you two. How about we all calm down and you can explain what is happening." When both of them tried to explain, Edith held her hand up and said, "Just one of you please."

Merlin glared Henry into submission, allowing her to explain the situation to the older woman. It didn't stop Henry from interrupting her in order to give his own input. When Merlin was finished explaining, Edith sighed and looked at the boy in disappointment.

"Really, Henry? What have I said about spreading rumors without having all the facts?" When he went to defend himself, Edith rose a finger up to stop him and said, "Uh uh, I'm not finished."

Before saying anything else to the boy she turned to Merlin and said, "Now Merlin, I'm sure you're quite busy at the moment. How about you go and retrieve the prince's breakfast and take it up to him?" Merlin was about to refuse when Edith said, "Don't worry, I'll deal with him." The woman gestured towards a nervous Henry and Merlin frowned, not wanting to go, but she knew that she couldn't keep Arthur waiting.

Sighing, Merlin turned and walked towards an amused Gwen. Scrunching her face in a playful glare, Merlin entered the kitchen and asked Audrey, the head cook, for Arthur's breakfast. The cook gave Merlin a look and pointed at one of the servants in the room. Blushing, Merlin turned to the servant and again asked for Arthur's breakfast.

After grabbing the tray holding Arthur's food, Merlin walked out of the kitchen with Gwen following after her. "I can't believe that happened," Merlin grumbled.

Gwen giggled and said, "Something tells me that this is going to be the new normal around here."

"Gwen," Merlin drew out, but the girl only laughed at her predicament.

When they reached the end of the corridor the two went their separate ways. Gwen left to attend to her duties as Morgana's maidservant and Merlin apprehensively made her way to Arthur's chamber. She didn't know how she could face the prince after what she had just learned.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Merlin walked into Arthur's room, stopping abruptly when she noticed a glowering Arthur standing in the middle of his room.

"So nice of you to finally make an appearance," he said, glaring at her in frustration.

"Er, I brought breakfast?" Merlin said, making it sound like a question. Pushing past Arthur, Merlin walked over to the table and set the tray down, and when Arthur went to sit down with a huff, she stepped away from the table and started cleaning his room.

"When you're finished I need you to go and grab my armour and bring it back here and get me ready for the tournament." Merlin's brows furrowed in confusion as she set Arthur's clothes on his bed.

"Will you not be getting ready on the field?" she asked.

"I would have, but my incompetent servant decided that she wanted to take her time," Arthur reproached before he stood and faced Merlin. "Do try to be quick about bringing my armour."

With his clear dismissal Merlin scowled and after grabbing Arthur's finished breakfast, she walked out of his room. Leaving the tray in the kitchen, Merlin hurried off to the armoury, saying hello to the passing knights.

When she entered the armoury, she noticed that it was empty and she grimaced, knowing that it was because she had been late in getting Arthur ready for the day. Sighing, Merlin made her way to where she had left the prince's armour, however, when she went to grab it, Merlin heard a low hissing sound coming from somewhere in the room.

Frowning, Merlin stepped away from the table and walked to where she thought the sound was coming from and called out, "Hello? Is there someone there?" She looked around and didn't see anyone, but she could still hear hissing coming from somewhere.

As she stepped further into the room, she was able to tell that the hissing was coming from somewhere lower. Glancing down, Merlin rose a brow in confusion when she only found Sir Valiant's shield. Frowning, she kneeled down in order to get a closer look at the intertwining snake design. Her frown deepened when she sensed something off with the shield and reaching out with her magic, she let out a gasp when she saw one of the snakes blink its red eye. Entranced, Merlin reached out to touch the snake, but before she could put her fingers on the shield she froze when someone put a sword to her chest. Gulping, Merlin shakily stood and faced the person, widening her eyes in dread when she saw who it was.

"Well, well, well, looks like its my lucky day." Sir Valiant stepped close to Merlin, making her back up against one of the wooden pillars in the room. Filled with fear, she looked around the armoury in hopes that someone had walked in at some point. Unfortunately for her, no one did.

"Such beauty," Sir Valiant whispered, reaching up to push a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Shuddering in disgust, Merlin turned her head away, but Sir Valiant only grasped her face and turned it back to face him. "Now, now. No need to look away." This time he stroked her face and again Merlin tried to pull back and look for a way out. "I can see why Prince Arthur keeps you around," he said to her. "Do you think Arthur would be willing to wager? I win the fight against him and I get to have you for myself?"

Merlin glared at the knight in disgust and hoping that it wouldn't come back to bite her, she lifted her foot and brought it back down onto Sir Valiants. She smirked in satisfaction when he pulled back and cursed in pain. "Why, you little..."

Merlin didn't bother to stick around as she rushed to gather Arthur's armour and stumbled out of the room, trying to ignore the knight's curses. With her heart pounding, Merlin walked back to Arthur's chamber, not stopping until she made it to his door. Taking a moment to settle her nerves, Merlin walked into the room without knocking.

With shaking hands, Merlin went to stand by the table and laid out Arthur's armour. "What took you so long? The tournament is about to start and I haven't even got my armour. I swear Merlin, if I miss the fight, it will be _your_ head. Do you understand me?"

"S-sorry, sire. I was a bit held up. Wont happen again," she answered before muttering under her breath "maybe." When she looked up she was confused at the odd look on Arthur's face. If she didn't know any better she would say that it was concern. "Sire?" she questioned.

"Did something happen?" he asked, to her surprise.

Not wanting to bring up her encounter with Sir Valiant, Merlin shook her head and said, "No, everything's okay. How about I put on your armour. Weren't you just complaining about being late?" Merlin chuckled and wrung her fingers nervously.

Arthur hesitated before coming to stand next to her and looked to where his clean armour was laid out. "You did all this on your own?" he asked bewildered.

Merlin laughed nervously, remembering how she had used her magic in order to clean and repair Arthur's armour, and said, "Yes, sire. Shall I?" She pointed down at the armour and Arthur rolled his eyes and stepped away from the table.

"Let's see if you can get me into it without forgetting anything," Arthur said dryly, lifting his arms up as Merlin grabbed his hauberk and pulled it over his head before putting the surcoat over it. Merlin methodically put the rest of Arthur's armour on him, feeling proud of herself when she was able to put his vambraces on without struggling. When she was finished, Merlin grabbed Arthur's sword and purposefully showed him as she put it onto his sword belt.

Smiling at her success, Merlin reached for the helmet and handed it to a surprised Arthur. "That was much better," he said in a tone filled with surprise. At his words, Merlin crossed her arms and smiled smugly. Noticing this, Arthur cleared his throat and said, "Not that it could have got any worse."

Ignoring his dismissal, Merlin shrugged and said, "I'm a fast learner."

Merlin dropped her hands to her sides when Arthur stared at her seriously before saying, "I hope, for your sake, that's true."

Not knowing what to say, Merlin smiled and said, "Good luck."

Arthur only gave her a glance of acknowledgment before he walked out of his chambers. Merlin watched him as he left her in the now empty room and throwing her hands up in exasperation, she followed the prince down to the arena.

When they neared the arena, she grimaced when she noticed that it was already filled with people. The tournament had started and Arthur had almost missed it and he must have realized this as well because he looked back at her and glared. Merlin smiled sheepishly at him and followed him to the entrance of the arena so she could watch the fight.

As Arthur walked into the arena, someone walked up behind her and she jumped when they spoke. "Is it my imagination, or are you beginning to enjoy yourself?" Merlin turned to face an amused Gaius.

Spluttering, Merlin was quick to deny his claim. "W-what? Of course not." Gaius rose a brow in disbelief. Sighing, Merlin leaned against the stone wall and said, "Okay...I'll admit that the tournament is pretty fun to watch."

"That wasn't what I was referr-"

Merlin didn't hear the rest of what Gaius was telling her, because she was soon distracted with Arthur and his opponent fighting in the arena.

 _"_ Yes!" she cried out, clapping as Arthur quickly took down the knight he was fighting. After acknowledging the crowd, Arthur walked out of the arena and made his way towards her. "Oh, I've got to go now, Gaius. I'll see you later?" she asked Gaius as she followed Arthur out.

"Of course my dear." Merlin turned to smile at the old man before quickening her steps to match Arthur's. Without speaking, they made it to the Pendragon tent and Merlin hurried to grab Arthur some water before he could ask for it.

When she went to give it to him, Arthur stopped her and said, "Stay on the ground this time." Merlin frowned, feeling disappointed, but Arthur only grabbed the water from her grasp and drank it.

Scowling, Merlin went to stand beside Arthur and watched the other knights competing. "Oh, quit pouting. The field is easily visible from here," Arthur sniped.

Shaking herself out of her displeasure, Merlin muttered, "Maybe for you, sire," before quickly adding, "And I'm not pouting." Arthur only gave her a look before focusing back on the fight.

Merlin watched as Sir Valiant entered the arena and began fighting the other knight. She winced every time Sir Valiant brought his sword down onto the other knight's shield and she bit her lip in frustration when Sir Valiant was able to knock down his opponent. She watched as Sir Valiant pinned the knight down with his shield and after a brief struggle Sir Valiant stood up and raised his arms in victory. The crowd cheered, but Merlin became concerned when the knight on the floor didn't move.

She glanced at Arthur and said worriedly, "I think he's badly hurt." Arthur looked down at her, frowning, before looking back at the downed knight.

"He'll be alright. Probably just knocked out. Sir Valiant was pretty harsh in there," Arthur said, gesturing down at the field. His attempt at reassuring her didn't appease her worries, especially when she watched Gaius rush into the arena with his medical bag.

 _Merlin...Merlin._ "Merlin!"

Merlin jumped at the sound of her name being shouted and she turned to Arthur, who looked annoyed. Raising her brow in question, she watched him purse his lips in frustration.

"Stop being such a _girl_ , Merlin." Merlin frowned, and she was just about to point out that it would be hard to do so, seeing as how she _was_ a girl, when Arthur interrupted her. "Now if you are done weeping, I believe you have an actual job to do." He gestured to his armour, and scoffing under her breath, Merlin reached out and began taking off Arthur's armour.

After Arthur gave her a list of chores he wanted completed before the end of the day, Merlin walked away, making sure not to look like she was in a hurry as she didn't want Arthur to call her back. Once she was out of Arthur's sight, she rushed back to Gaius's chambers and barged into the room to see Gaius leaning over the injured knight.

Hurriedly dropping Arthur's armour on one of the tables, she asked, "How is he?"

Gaius furrowed his brows in confusion and gestured for her to get closer to him. "It's most odd," he said, before showing Merlin the knights neck. "Look at this. See these two small wounds? Looks like a snake bite."

Frowning, Merlin leaned forward to get a better look and immediately noticed the two puncture wounds on the knight's neck."But, how could he have been bitten by a snake? There couldn't have been any snakes in the arena," she said confused, turning to face Gaius.

Gaius looked at her, unconvinced and said, "Yet the symptoms are consistent with poisoning—slow pulse, fever, paralysis." Merlin watched as Gaius used a wet rag to clean around the wound.

Feeling concerned for the knight, Merlin turned back to face him and asked, "Can you heal him?" Beside her, Gaius sighed and stood from his spot and walked over to his work table in order to clean the rag that he had been using on the knight.

"Well, if it _is_ a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote."

Merlin stepped aside when Gaius came back with a freshly cleaned rag and went back to cleaning the knight's wound. "But if he doesn't get the antidote, he could die," she said, biting her lip in concern, remembering some of the stories that the healers that had passed through Ealdor had told her. She hadn't wanted to go out into the woods with her closest friend, Will, for the longest time after that.

She looked over to the knight, losing herself in her thoughts before she gasped in realization. "He was fighting Sir Valiant," she said. Sir Valiant had to have had something to do with this, she thought. The moment that Merlin had met the man, she knew that there was something off about him, besides him just being outright creepy, and there was also that weird shield of his that she could have sworn had hissed at her when she was in the armoury earlier that day.

"What's that?" Gaius asked, distracted as he looked over the knight.

"Nothing, I have to go," she said hurriedly, pointing behind her. "Arthur gave me a list of chores that need to be completed, so I have to go and do that." Without looking at Gaius, Merlin rushed out of the room, only pausing to glance at the armour that was still laid out where she had left it in her rush to see how the knight was doing. She had forgotten that Arthur had told her to clean it. "I'll just do that when I come back," Merlin muttered distractedly, flapping her hand as she walked out into the corridor.

Taking a deep breath, Merlin looked around as she tried to remember where Edith had told her the guest quarters were. She knew that what she was about to do was foolish, especially when she thought about how her last interaction with Sir Valiant went, but she just had to know what was happening. Shaking herself from her thoughts, Merlin hurried down the different corridors until she was finally close to the guest quarters, however, before she could make it far she was stopped by a flustered servant, who looked like she had been running around the whole castle.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked, looking around the corridor in confusion as the servant tried to calm her breathing from the exertion.

"Prince Arthur has requested that his dinner be brought up right away," the servant said when she was able to catch her breath. Merlin groaned in frustration, rolling her eyes at the interruption, causing the servant to widen her eyes in surprise. Remembering that as a servant she was meant to do her work with no complaints, Merlin smiled sheepishly and gestured for the girl to walk ahead of her while she threw one last glance to the corridor that led to the guest quarters, and more importantly Sir Valiant's chambers, before she followed the girl back to the kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen, Merlin walked in and waited by one of the tables as another servant prepared Arthur's dinner. Distracted in her thoughts about Sir Valiant and wondering whether she would be able to prove that he had something to do with the injured knight currently in Gaius's chambers, Merlin jumped when the servant set the tray in front of her. Smiling in thanks, she grabbed the tray and made her way to Arthur's room.

When she neared Arthur's chambers, she greeted the guards with a smile and walked past them to enter the room.

"It's about time," Arthur said from his spot near the window. "And don't you ever knock?" he asked, annoyed at her inability to knock before entering a room.

"I would, but my hands are a bit full at the moment," Merlin said, raising the tray in her hands a bit before setting it down on the table. "Your dinner as you have requested."

"Having full hands doesn't stop other servants from being able to knock, so it shouldn't hinder you in anyway." Arthur left from his spot and walked over to the table that held his dinner and sat down. Merlin just shook her head and seeing that she was already in his room, Merlin began doing the chores that Arthur had told her to do after the fights. Rather than taking her time like she usually did, Merlin hurried to finish each task so she would still have time to check out Sir Valiant's guest chambers before she had to return to hers. She didn't have any proof, but Merlin just knew that the knight had something to do with the injuries inflicted on the knight that Gaius was looking after.

"Is there somewhere more important where you need to be?" Arthur asked, making her jump at the sudden interruption. Merlin turned from where she had been preparing Arthur's bed for the night and looked towards Arthur, who was staring at her.

"Pardon?" Merlin asked confused, straightening up and releasing the pillow she had been trying to fluff up.

Arthur waved his knife in her direction and said, "You usually take longer finishing your duties. There's also a lot more whining involved so-"

"I don't whine," she said, affronted.

Arthur rolled his eyes and set his knife down. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, is there somewhere more important where you need to be? Somewhere more important than attending to your master?"

Frowning, Merlin stepped away from Arthur's bed and walked to the table to retrieve the now empty tray and held it to her side. "I don't understand," Merlin started, exaggerating her look of confusion. "Have you _not_ been complaining about my inability to do my job like the rest of the servants here? Is there no pleasing you, sire?" Merlin rose a brow in question, her lips threatening to tilt up in amusement at the look Arthur gave her.

"Just get out of here," Arthur said, shooing her off. "I expect you to be on time tomorrow. I will not be late on the last day of the tournament."

Shaking her head, Merlin excused herself and quickly made her way to the kitchen in order to drop off Arthur's tray. Hopefully it wasn't too late for her to go past Sir Valiant's chambers.

Dropping off the tray, Merlin made her way to the guest quarters and immediately hid around the corner of one of the corridors when she heard footsteps. Making sure that she wouldn't be seen, she leaned forward in order to see who it was. When she saw Sir Valiant crossing through the Chamber, Merlin pulled back and waited for him to enter one of the corridors that led to his chambers. With her heart beating uncontrollably, Merlin pushed away from the wall and followed after the knight, making sure to keep her distance lest Sir Valiant turned and noticed her following him. The last thing she wanted was to have the knight's attention on her again. Merlin shuddered at the thought and berated herself for always wanting to know everything.

When she reached the door to Sir Valiant's room, Merlin took a deep breath, threw one last glance behind her, and slowly pushed his door open so she could see inside. She took a slight step back when the knight came into view, holding a small cage. She watched as Sir Valiant set the cage down on the table and reached inside, pulling out a white mouse by its tail.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't control the small gasp that escaped her when Sir Valiant walked over to his shield, holding out the mouse, and three snake heads came out of the shield. Even from where she stood, Merlin could feel the magic coming off of the shield. Suddenly feeling frightened at what she was seeing, Merlin scurried away, hiding in an alcove when she heard Sir Valiant following after her.

Leaning her head back on the stone wall, Merlin rose a hand to her mouth to hide the sound of her heavy breathing, she didn't feel like being caught by the knight at the moment. As she waited to see whether the knight would leave, Merlin slumped against the wall, feeling shocked at what she had just witnessed. She knew that there was something off about Sir Valiant, but she would never have guessed that it had something to do with _magic_.

Honestly, she thought, for a kingdom that abhorred magic, there seemed to be a lot of it going on around this place. When she heard Sir Valiant walk away, Merlin sighed in relief and hurried back to her room so she could tell Gaius what she had just seen.

Slightly out of breath, Merlin barged into Gaius's chamber and wildly looked around for the old man. Noticing him sitting by the table, Merlin walked up to him, only sparing a glance to the injured knight before turning to face Gaius. Throwing her arms around wildly, Merlin hissed, "I've just seen the snakes in Valiant's shield come alive. He's using magic. I told you there was something off about him, Gaius." Merlin glared down at Gaius in disapproval and crossed her arms to further show her disappointment.

Gaius rose an unimpressed brow and said, "You told me no such thing. Now are you sure that Sir Valiant is using magic?"

Merlin frowned in thought as she tried to remember whether she had told the old physician her thoughts on the creepy knight. "Well I meant to," she grumbled, before waving it off. "But yes, I'm sure that Sir Valiant was using magic. I saw it with my own two eyes. Sir Valiant held a mouse out and three snake heads just rose out of it and ate it."

Merlin paused and gestured over to the knight on the bed. "It all makes sense now, though. He had been fighting Sir Valiant when he collapsed. You said it yourself that the knight's injury resembled that of a snake bite. Well, it must've been one of the snakes from the shield." As she spoke, Merlin couldn't stay still as new theories crossed her mind. Then, as if she had been enchanted, Merlin stood absolutely still as a sudden thought crossed her mind—Arthur.

Suddenly gaining movement again, Merlin turned around sharply and cried out, "I have to go and tell Arthur. He can't just go out and fight the man tomorrow and not know. What kind of protector would I be then?"

How could she have forgotten about how this would affect Arthur? And knowing her luck, Arthur would be involved somehow. Did the great dragon not warn her that Arthur would face many threats before he became king? And at the moment, Sir Valiant was one of those threats that the dragon had warned her about. As she prepared to leave agin, Merlin couldn't help but think how this was only the second person that Merlin had to protect Arthur from, and already it was becoming a nuisance.

"Hold on, Merlin. You can't just go around accusing someone of using magic. Is there any chance you might be mistaken?" Gaius said, standing up from his seat and walked up to Merlin.

She scowled as Gaius pushed her slightly until she took a seat near the injured knight. "I know magic when I see it," she answered, petulantly.

"Perhaps, but have you any proof?" Gaius asked her and Merlin looked up at him, feeling hurt at his words.

"Don't you believe me?" Merlin asked. She would have thought that out of everyone, Gaius would be the one to believe her when it came to magic.

Gaius only stared down at her and said, "I fear you'll land yourself in trouble. How will you explain why you were in Valiant's chambers?"

"But I wasn't _in_ his chambers," Merlin explained and Gaius only rose a brow to show his displeasure. Merlin huffed and stood from her seat and said, "If it's that important, we can just say that I was passing by and his door had been left open."

"I'm afraid that won't be enough. As Arthur's servant you have no business being in that part of the castle unless the prince asked you to be there. And even then the king will have a hard time believing what you saw," Gaius explained as he watched Merlin pace across the room.

Merlin threw her hands up in frustration. "What does that matter?" Merlin cried out, jumping up from her seat in frustration. "He's using magic to cheat in the tournament! Someone already got hurt. Are you really going to stand there and allow someone else to get hurt? Let Arthur, the future king, get hurt?"

"Of course not," Gaius said, shaking his head angrily. "But you can't go accusing a knight of using magic without proof. The king would never accept the word of a servant over the word of a knight."

"That's preposterous!" Merlin cried out incredulously. "So what I say doesn't count for anything?" Merlin couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Uther not deem it important enough to listen to the word of a servant? How was that in anyway a good idea?

"I'm afraid it counts for very little as far as the king is concerned. That's the way it is," Gaius said as he stared at her, urging her to understand the ways of Camelot.

Merlin stared back, glowering and said, "Well it's wrong and one day King Uther is going to find out the hard way that nobility doesn't always make a person noble." With her last words, Merlin walked towards her room and shut the door behind her.

Frustrated, Merlin fell onto her bed and screamed into her pillow before turning to lie on her back. How was this fair? How was she meant to protect Arthur if the king was unwilling to listen to a servant? 

Huffing, Merlin sat up and noticed Arthur's armour piled up next to her door. She groaned when she remembered that she was meant to clean Arthur's armour before the start of the tournament the next day. Flashing her eyes at the pile, Merlin used her magic to clean the armour, glaring at the door in defiance.

She knew that she shouldn't be angry at the old physician, but Merlin couldn't help feeling irritated at being told the limitations that came with her being a servant. It was so much easier in Ealdor, Merlin thought, suddenly feeling a sense of sorrow when she thought of her home.

Watching as the armour cleaned itself, Merlin laid back down and allowed herself to be washed over with memories of Ealdor. The last thing that crossed her mind as her eyes fluttered shut were thoughts about her mother and those she left behind in her small village. 


	9. VALIANT (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So sorry for the long wait, but the last chapter to Valiant is finally here! I also added some stuff to some of the previous chapters, but it's not really anything important that you have to reread them in order to understand this one. Thank you to anyone who is still reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

The next day, Merlin woke before the sun had the chance to lighten the sky. Rather than getting up, she laid on her bed as the events that had occurred the previous day passed through her head. If she was being honest with herself, Merlin saw no point in getting up if after today she was probably going to be out of a job. It was the last day of the tournament, and Sir Valiant had proven that he would do anything to win and Merlin didn’t know what to do. How was she meant to save Arthur, or anyone else, if no one was willing to listen because of who she was?

Ignoring her dilemma for the moment, Merlin glanced over to her door and her thoughts led to the knight just outside, who was slowly dying because Gaius was still unable to create an antidote. Merlin frowned as she thought about the knight and how easy it would be to help him if she wasn’t constantly told not to use her magic. Sighing, she glanced up and furrowed her brows in thought. Surely she can do something for the injured man. The way things were going, it seemed more likely that he would die before Gaius could do anything to help him.

She didn’t know how long she laid there before she came to the decision that if she couldn’t stop Valiant, the least she could do was help the injured knight. Quickly sitting up, and after giving another glance to the door, Merlin kneeled next to the floorboard that had her magic book hidden underneath it. Making as little noise as possible, Merlin pried the floorboard up and took her book from its hiding spot, relishing the spark of magic—her magic—that she could feel running through the book.

Sitting down with her back pressed against her bed, Merlin flipped through the book in order to find the perfect spell to help the knight, pausing only to wrap her blanket around her when the early morning chill made its way into her room. She groaned in frustration when she noticed the number of healing spells written in the book. Why couldn’t it have been more simple? she thought as she read what each healing spell did until she found the one that would be useful to the knight.

Fully immersed in her reading, Merlin didn’t notice when Gaius began moving around outside nor when he left in order to deliver his potions to whoever needed them, which was why she was confused when she finally emerged from her room a while later and found that other then the knight the physician’s chamber was empty. Despite her confusion, Merlin was glad that he wasn’t there because she wasn’t ready to speak with him after their conversation from the night before.

Closing her door behind her, Merlin made her way towards the unconscious man and winced slightly at the sight of him. The knight somehow looked worse than the day before and it seemed like he was having trouble breathing, making her worry even more for the him.

“Let’s hope this works,” she muttered as she laid a soothing hand on the knight’s head, a small smile gracing her face when the man relaxed under her touch. Taking a deep breath, Merlin gathered her magic, feeling it rush up in excitement at the prospect of it being used. “ _Gestepe hole! Þurhhæle_ ,” she intoned, closing her eyes in concentration as her magic tried to heal the knight. Merlin gasped as she felt her magic grasp onto the knight and could feel a slight tugging as if her magic was trying to pull the venom from the knight. She couldn’t explain the feeling, but she couldn’t help the grunt of pain when her magic gave a stronger tug.

“What do you think you’re doing?” someone asked and Merlin’s concentration broke as she looked towards the door, sighing in relief when she noticed it was only Gaius. Grimacing at the look on the old physician’s face, Merlin quickly stood, stumbling slightly as she did so.

“Okay I can explain,” Merlin started before shaking her head and said, “as soon as the room stops spinning.”

“You foolish girl,” Gaius hissed as he marched towards her and grabbed her arm before pulling her away from the knight, not wanting to take the chance that the knight would hear him in his current state.“Do you have any idea what you just did?” Gaius asked her, glaring at her as Merlin tried to take a step back, blinking rapidly to get rid of her sudden case of vertigo.

“Er,” she started before being cut off by a furious Gaius.

“Sit down and eat this,” he demanded, pushing a piece of bread into her hands. Merlin frowned as she reached for it, confused as to where he had gotten it from.

“Why do I-” she began only to be interrupted again as she was pushed down onto the nearest seat.

“Eat.” Gaius moved away from her as he went to check on the sleeping knight. Still confused, Merlin slowly ate the slightly stale bread as she watched the older man move to a shelf filled with potions. She watched as he grabbed one and came towards her and held the potion out to her, gesturing for her to drink it.

“Oh no thank you,” Merlin tried, grimacing at the sight of the potion. She’s been around Gaius long enough to know that none of his potions looked good enough for her to drink any of them. Gaius only glared down at her and not wishing to start another argument with the man, Merlin grabbed the potion and hurriedly drank it, gagging slightly at the taste. Scrunching her face in disgust, she held her stomach in hopes that she would be able to keep the potion and the bread she had just eaten down.

“Was there a purpose for that?” Merlin asked once she was sure nothing was going to come up.

“If you hadn’t used magic to heal Sir Ewan none of this would have been necessary. Do you have any idea how dangerous using healing magic without the proper training is?”

“I had a handle on it,” Merlin said, glowering at the floor. “I couldn’t just leave him like that,” Merlin continued, gesturing at the knight. “I asked you before what was the purpose of having magic if I couldn’t use it. I told you that I had to believe that there was a purpose and it may have taken me a while to realize, but this is my purpose. If I can help someone I have to take the chance, Gaius. Especially when it seems like I can’t do anything to help Arthur.” 

Gaius sighed at her words and took a seat beside her. “There is nothing I can do to stop you?” he asked her and Merlin shook her head in answer. “Then I should tell you that there is a reason that even before the purge there was a shortage of magical healers. It takes too much power especially for someone who barely has any training. You may have more power than any sorcerer I have ever come across, but even you have your limits. You aren’t ready for that type of magic yet and you’re lucky that I stopped you in time before any real harm could be done.” Gaius held a hand up when Merlin went to interrupt him.

“Healing magic is different then any other type of magic, Merlin. It takes more out of you depending on what it is you’re healing. The closer someone is to death, the harder it becomes. In the old religion there needs to be a balance between life and death, and healing magic upsets that balance. The more you push, the more magic takes from you.” Merlin fidgeted in her seat as Gaius looked at her, imploring her to understand.

Gaius sighed and said, “As for helping Arthur. I’ve been thinking about what we talked about yesterday and even though Uther will never believe your word over a knight, it doesn’t mean that you have to give up.”

“But how can we stop Valiant if the king won’t listen? What else can we do? The tournament ends today, there isn’t enough time to do much else.” Merlin ran her hand through her hair as she tried to think before her eyes landed on the unconscious knight. “What about him?” Merlin asked, nodding towards the knight. “Sir Ewan you said? Could he not tell the king what happened when he wakes up?”

Before Merlin had even finished talking, Gaius was already shaking his head. “I fear that won’t work. Even if it can bring someone back from the brink of death, healing magic has its disadvantages. Your magic is currently fighting the venom inside of Sir Ewan and it has a bit of an affect on those who aren’t used to having magic run through them. I don’t know how long it will take for him to wake up and-”

“And it might be too late by then,” Merlin interrupted and frowned as she watched the sleeping knight. She couldn’t help but wonder if she made a mistake by using her magic to heal the man, however, she was quick to shake the thought from her mind. Sir Ewan was going to live because of what she did and, even if they could no longer count on him to be able to tell the king about Sir Valiant’s actions, she could never regret using her magic to save someones life. If only she could think of a way to save Arthur’s and any person Sir Valiant was made to fight against.

“Well we can’t bring this to the king for obvious reasons,” Gaius said, gesturing to Sir Ewan. “But that doesn’t mean we give up. Despite your accusations last night, I don’t actually want anyone else getting hurt, especially Arthur.” Merlin smiled sheepishly at the reminder as Gaius looked at her with his raised brow. “Now I don’t know how much help I can be but I will tell you that from what I’ve seen, you are very resourceful Merlin and I have no doubt that you will find a way to stop Valiant.”

Merlin smiled at Gaius’s words but became startled when she heard bells ringing outside. “Oh no,” she moaned in dismay. “I’m already late and just you watch, Arthur is not going to be happy about this.” Merlin stood from her seat and hurried to get ready before rushing out the door, giving Gaius a wave goodbye. “Maybe if I hurry I’ll still have the chance to bring him his breakfast,” she muttered as she rushed down the steps before throwing her hands up when she remembered that she had forgotten something in her hurry.

Merlin rushed back into the physician’s chambers and hurried past a confused Gaius, who was still sitting where she had left him, looking confused at her sudden departure and reappearance. “Forgot Arthur’s armour,” Merlin explained as she went into her room and grabbed it from where it laid near her door before rushing out again.

Now I’m really late, she thought, grimacing at the idea of how the prince would react to her tardiness.

“Miss,” someone called out and Merlin broke from her thoughts and frowned when she noticed the servant boy Henry walking up to her.

“Henry?” Merlin questioned, stopping when the younger boy stopped in front of her. “Er, sorry I can’t talk right now, I’ve got to go and grab the prince’s breakfast and take his armour up to him.” Merlin tried to walk around the servant boy, but furrowed her brows in confusion when Henry stepped to the side, blocking her from leaving. “Would you mind stepping aside Henry? I’m already running a bit late.”

“I-I’m really sorry, miss,” Henry said, fidgeting nervously in his spot. “Prince Arthur has asked me to retrieve his armour for him.”

“What for? I’m bringing them to him after I’ve finished collecting his breakfast.” Merlin had no idea what was happening but she couldn’t help the slight feeling of irritation she felt for the prince. She was only a bit late and it wasn’t like it was anything new, yet Arthur felt the need to send someone else to come collect his armour.

“Oh well, you don’t have to worry about breakfast, miss. I’ve already brought it up to him,” Henry said, beaming in pride at having successfully served his master.

“Of course you did,” Merlin huffed, causing Henry’s eyes to widen in surprise at her tone. Merlin winced at the sight and sighed, holding out the armour for Henry to take. It wasn’t his fault that Arthur was so impatient. She couldn’t help the smirk that spread across her face when she noticed Henry struggling slightly under the weight of the armour. “Want any help with that?” Merlin asked, chuckling at the sight. She hadn’t noticed how small the boy was before, which was understandable considering how their last interactions went.

“No, I’ve got it.” Henry huffed as he moved the armour around in order to make it easier to carry. Merlin smiled at the sight and rolled her eyes before helping Henry move the armour, and made sure to hide her eyes from his sight when she used a bit of her magic to lighten the pile in his arms. The young boy laughed in accomplishment before looking at her with his brown eyes. “See? I told you I had it,” he said, smiling cheekily up at her, making Merlin laugh in amusement.

Merlin followed the young servant boy back to Arthur’s chambers, lost in her thoughts. She had no idea how she was meant to help Arthur if she couldn’t tell the king about what she had seen and now because of her healing Sir Ewan they could no longer have him expose Sir Valiant for the cheater thathe is. She should just have stayed in bed if this was going to be the outcome.

“Merlin,” Henry said, breaking her from her thoughts as they neared Arthur’s chamber.

“Yes?” Merlin answered, slightly distracted.

Besides her, Henry coughed awkwardly and said, “I wanted to apologize for the lies that I spread about you.” At his words, Merlin turned to face the young boy, frowning at the reminder. The boy gulped nervously and continued. “It wasn’t fair of me to make assumptions about you and the prince. It was very improper if I’m being honest. Of course _anyone_ could have come to that assumption.” Henry muttered that last part to himself, but Merlin was still able to hear it. When Henry looked up at her Merlin looked at him and the boy blushed when he realized that she had heard him.

Merlin shook her head and chuckled. “I accept your apology,” Merlin said, making Henry beam in joy before letting it drop when she continued. “But if I hear you spreading lies about me again, you’ll have to deal with me, not Edith. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes, of course I understand. You don’t have to worry about me anymore, miss,” Henry stumbled out, nodding his head rapidly, making Merlin worry for his neck.

“You don’t have to keep calling me miss. Merlin is just fine,” she told him.

“Okay Miss Merlin,” Henry said, laughing when Merlin glared at him. When they neared the guards just outside the prince’s chambers, Henry lowered his gaze and walked past them while Merlin greeted them like always, ignoring Henry’s shocked look.

When they reached the door to Arthur’s room, Merlin reached out to open it and let Henry enter first before following after him. She immediately noticed a fuming prince and she huffed making Arthur turn at the sound.

“Well look who decided to finally show up,” Arthur said, glaring at her. Merlin watched as Henry set the prince’s armour down on the table before responding.

“It wasn’t like I was trying to be late on purpose,” she started before being cut off.

“I don’t have time for your excuses, Merlin. It’s the last day of the tournament and you’re late! Again! How do you think this makes me look? How it makes me look to my father, _the king_?”As he spoke, Arthur’s voice rose in anger and Merlin only felt sorry that Henry was there to witness it.

Crossing her arms, Merlin said, “Well I already told you that I wasn’t late on purpose. If you had let me explain then I would have told you that I was helping Gaius with Sir Ewan.”

“You work for me, not Gaius,” Arthur interrupted angrily and Merlin scoffed in frustration.

“Yes, of course. I do apologize, _sire_. What was I thinking? Obviously helping the prince get ready for the day, because he’s too much of a child to do it himself, is more important than helping save an innocent man from dying after Sir Valiant decided to cheat by using magic in order to win your stupid tournament.” Merlin was only half aware of Henry’s gasp at her words, but she spared no mind to it.

“Don’t forget your place,” Arthur said through clenched teeth while taking a step closer to her. Merlin breathed in deeply as she stood her ground, fighting the urge to take a step back. “I have let a lot of your blunders go, more than what my father would have allowed, but accusing someone of using magic in order to excuse your incompetence goes too far and I will not allow it.” Merlin frowned in confusion at Arthur’s words and almost groaned when she realized that she had just accused Sir Valiant of using magic in her anger. She didn’t understand why the prince had a way of making her say things that she probably shouldn’t and because of that she now had a furious prince standing in front of her. She wouldn’t be surprised if she found herself in the dungeons again.

“I-” How was she meant to explain her accusation to Arthur without messing up again?

“Sir Valiant is a noble knight who fairly earned his spot in the tournament,” Arthur said in defense of the other knight. “Yes, what happened to Sir Ewan was unfortunate, but these things happen, and if you plan on staying here you’re going to have to get used to that because I won’t stand you accusing good men every time their opponents get hurt because you’ve gotten too sentimental.”

Merlin scoffed at the prince’s words and couldn’t help the words that came out of her mouth. “Noble, right. More like a creep who doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself.”

Arthur’s face twisted in confusion and looked at Merlin. “What is that suppose to mean?”

Merlin shook her head and said, “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that while you’re here defending Sir Valiant, he’s out there preparing to fight his latest victim-”

“That’s enough!” Arthur interrupted her but Merlin ignored him and spoke over him.

“And because you’re unwilling to listen he’s going to get away with it!”

“You have no proof!” Arthur shouted.

“Of course because apparently my word isn’t enough! How many people need to die before you realize that Valiant is using magic to cheat?” 

“S-Sire, miss why d-” Henry hesitantly spoke from his spot.

“Stay out of this!” Merlin and Arthur shouted at the same time, making Henry jump in fright. Merlin instantly felt guilty for shouting at the younger boy, but her attention turned to Arthur again.

“What am I suppose to think? You come in here late and suddenly start accusing a knight of using magic, which is punishable by death if you weren’t aware!”

“Oh I’m perfectly aware. For a kingdom that is so focused on eradicating magic, you don’t seem to be aware when magic is being used right in front of you. Valiant is using a magical shield in this tournament and you are too dense to see it!”

“Watch your words,” Arthur hissed out, narrowing his eyes in anger. “You have no idea what you’re talking about and I will not have a _servant_ speak to me in such a way, especially by someone who knows nothing of magic!”

“At least I know enough to know when it’s being used! First Mary Collins and now Sir Valiant. I’m surprised you’ve even lived this long.” Merlin watched as Arthur opened his mouth before closing itin anger. She tried not to fidget at the look of outrage that crossed his face. 

Arthur breathed out and with a forced calmness he said, “You’re free to go.”

Confused, Merlin stared at Arthur and asked, “What about preparing for the tournament.” She pointed towards his armour to emphasis her point.

“You misunderstood me. I no longer need your services.”

“You’re letting me go?” Merlin asked incredulously.

Arthur threw his hands up in frustration, and said, “What did you expect? I need a servant who understands their place and doesn’t go around making wild accusations when they know nothing!”

“Fine, but don’t come back to me when you realize that I was right!” Merlin cried out in frustration.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Arthur called out to her when she moved towards the door to leave.

“I do feel sorry for the next servant that has to put up with you.” With that said, Merlin pulled Arthur’s door open and marched out without so much as a goodbye to the standing guards as she rushed past them, too focused on muttering angrily about the prince.

She shouldn’t have been surprised at Arthur’s reaction, but some part of her hoped that he would have been more understanding than the king despite her status as a servant. Perhaps if she had told him about Sir Valiant in a different manner, instead of accidentally blurting it out in the middle of insulting Arthur, then the outcome may have been different. Unfortunately, Merlin wasn’t the type to give up once she was caught in an argument, and now it seemed like she was going to have to pay for it.

Feeling defeated, Merlin walked out into the square and watched as people made their way towards the tournament grounds. No longer knowing what she was meant to do, Merlin walked off in a different direction, letting her feet lead the way. She didn’t realize where she was going until she found herself at the top of the stairs that led into the dungeons. Merlin looked around, confused as to why she was there out of all the places she could have gone to. Despite her confusion, Merlin made her way down the steps, quickly distracting the guards. She made her way down to the secret cave that was underneath the castle.

“Hello?” she called out and waited for the dragon to acknowledge her but he didn’t fly down from his hiding spot. Merlin sighed and sat down near the edge of the cave. “I don’t know what I’m suppose to do. Arthur just sacked me because I tried to warn him about Sir Valiant—he’s fighting in the tournament if you didn’t know. Of course I probably shouldn’t have insulted him, but I just can’t help it. Arthur can be a bit of an idiot at times.” Merlin huffed and ran her hands through her hair in frustration, undoing her red ribbon in the process. She wrapped it around her fingers as she spoke. “If I’m being honest I don’t think I’m the right person for this so called destiny you think I’m a part of. Is there a possibility that you made a mistake?”

“I don’t make mistakes.” The voice of the great dragon filled the cave as he flew down to the rock in front of her. Merlin looked up in amusement before going back to playing with her ribbon.

“Of course you don’t. Why would such a grand creature as yourself make mistakes like us mere mortals?” Merlin teased, laughing lightly when the dragon growled in warning. “Is it not possible to change my destiny to something easier than uniting all of Albion?” she asked after a bit of silence had passed.

“A true destiny doesn’t come without its struggles,” the dragon said as he stared down at her. Merlin looked up at the dragon skeptically. If she knew how hard her destiny was going to be she wouldn’t have been so desperate to find it, and to make matters worse, she didn’t even benefit from it.

“Yes, well what do you do when your destiny calls you a liar and wants nothing to do with you?” Merlin asked sulkily.

“That is for you to figure out, but know that yours and Arthur’s path lie together. This is not the end for you and the young prince.” The dragon fluttered his wings, Merlin’s only sign that he was about to take off.

“Will you ever just give me a straight answer?” Merlin asked as she stood up and quickly tied her ribbon back into her hair. “You know it's not that difficult to just say, ‘do this and everything will be fixed.’” The dragon let out a deep chuckle before sitting up on its hind legs and spread out his wings, preparing to fly off.

“Wait!” Merlin called out making the dragon stare down at her in question. “What’s your name?” she asked and the great dragon looked at her in surprise.

“My name?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yes. Surely a grand creature, who seemingly makes no mistakes, has a name,” Merlin said, smiling cheekily up at the dragon. She took a quick step back when the dragon moved his head forward to bring it closer to her. Did she offend the great dragon? Before she could apologize the dragon spoke up.

“It has been so long since anyone asked for my name,” he said giving Merlin a look that if she were to make a guess, she would say it was a look filled with wonder. Merlin looked over to where she could see the chain that was keeping him prisoner and she smiled sadly at the dragon. Without any thought to the consequences, she reached out shakily and laid her hand on the dragon’s scaly head, causing the ancient dragon to flinch at the touch. When was the last time he had been touched without pain being inflicted? she thought as she pulled her hand back to her side.

She watched as the dragon pulled away and readied himself for flight. For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to tell her his name, just as he had previously denied giving her answers to her questions. “My name is Kilgharrah,” he said before flying off with his ever present shackles following after him.

Merlin smiled and said to the empty space before her, “Until later, Kilgharrah.” With her farewell, Merlin fled from the cave, not knowing that far above the cavern the great dragon stared after her, ancient eyes shining at hearing his name for the first time in twenty years.

When she finally exited from the dungeons, Merlin shielded her eyes from the shining sun before making her way across the square and back to her room. She didn’t know what she was going to do to stop Valiant, but after her talk with Kilgharrah, Merlin was more determined then ever to stop the knight from hurting anyone else, especially Arthur—even if she wasn’t particularly happy with him. The only problem was that Merlin didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like she could just tell the king and she had a feeling that his reaction would be worse than his son’s.

As she walked back to the physician’s chambers, Merlin’s eyes caught sight of a dog statue and immediately she thought of something that could work. If she couldn’t make anyone believe what she saw, then the only obvious thing to do was to make them see it for themselves.

Looking around the square, she was happy to note that it was practically empty due to it being the last day of the tournament and everyone would be out watching. Going by the sounds, Merlin guessed that the tournament had only just begun, which meant that Merlin had to quickly find a spell that would bring the snakes on Valiant’s shield to life, and all before it was Arthur’s turn to fight the knight.

Quickly looking for a wheelbarrow, Merlin walked over to the dog statue and with a little burst of her magic, she lifted the statue and put it inside the small cart. With the statue in her possession, Merlin hurried back to her chambers, struggling slightly when she had to go up the stairs.

When she entered the room, she looked up and noticed that Gaius hadn’t left yet. “Oh, hello, Gaius. Shouldn’t you be down there already?” she asked, nodding her head towards the tournament grounds as she walked up to her room, turning around so she could lift the wheelbarrow up the steps.

“I could say the same to you,” Gaius said. “What are you doing with that?”

Merlin looked over to Sir Ewan to see if he was still sleeping before speaking. “I’ve decided that this was the best way to show everyone that Valiant is a cheater. Hopefully my book has a spell that will bring this statue to life.”

Gaius furrowed his brows and asked, “And does Arthur know that you aren’t doing your chores for him?”

Merlin winced before she said, “Well it doesn’t really matter considering I no longer work for him. I may have told him that Sir Valiant was cheating by using magic after calling him a child for needing help getting ready. Nothing new really.”

“Merlin,” Gaius scolded as she pulled the wheelbarrow up to her room.

“I’ll see you in a bit, Gaius. There’s a prince that needs saving,” she said before closing her door behind her. Merlin took the dog statue from its spot and placed it next to her bed. Satisfied with its placement, Merlin walked around her bed and reached for her hidden spell book before jumping onto her bed and began reading through each page, letting out a small cry in victory when she found the perfect spell.

“Bebay odothay arisan quickum,” Merlin muttered, reading the spell incantation out loud until she remembered it and no longer had to look down at the page.

Merlin shook herself in preparation before kneeling closer to the dog statue. “ _Bebay odothay arisan quickum_.” She felt her magic rise up and frowned when nothing happened. Outside Merlin heard the excited shouts of people cheering and she grew worried that she wouldn’t learn the spell in time. She repeated the spell over and over again, but failed to bring the statue to life. Growing frustrated, Merlin got off her bed and sat directly in front of the statue, hoping that it would somehow help.

Taking a deep breathe, Merlin closed her eyes and felt for her magic. Feeling the burning sun that was her magic, Merlin pulled until it flooded her senses and said, “ _Bebay odothay arisan quickum._ ” Lost in her concentration, she didn’t notice the growls filling her room and repeated the spell one more time before becoming aware of hot air blowing on her face.

Cracking one eye open, Merlin was surprised when she saw a growling dog standing in front of her.

“Yes!” Merlin cried out before scooting back when the dog went to lunge forward. “Ah!” She hurriedly stood from her spot and moved backwards, keeping her eyes on the growling dog. When the dog went to lunge again, Merlin felt her eyes burn with magic as she shouted out, “No! Bad dog!”

To her surprise the dog stopped in front of her, whining as he hid his face with his giant paws. Not knowing why, Merlin stepped forward and laid a hand on the dog. She let out a laugh when the dog immediately rolled over, looking at her expectantly. Not wanting to disappoint, Merlin rubbed his belly and laughed when the dog began to wag his tail happily.

“Well aren’t you a good dog,” she cooed and the dog barked in answer.

“Merlin!” Merlin jumped when Gaius barged into her room, causing the dog to stand up and begin growling again.

“Down, boy, down,” Merlin ordered before turning to a confused Gaius once the dog did as she said. “I did it!” Merlin said proudly, pointing at the panting dog.

“I can see that,” Gaius said, stepping back cautiously from the big dog that had once been a statue. “It’s good that you’ve found a solution because Arthur is out there fighting Valiant.”

“What? Why didn’t you start with that?” she asked as she hurried past Gaius, unaware of the dog following after her. She heard Gaius call after her but she paid no mind to him as she ran down to the tournament grounds. There was a prince that needed saving.

When Merlin neared the arena, she stopped at the entrance and watched as Arthur and Valiant fought against each other. She winced when Arthur lost his shield and sword and was pushed against one of the walls near where she stood. Besides her she heard a bark and it made her jump in surprise as well as Arthur and Sir Valiant. When Merlin looked towards the sound, she was confused when she saw the dog she had brought to life staring up at her.

Choosing to ignore the dog for the time being, Merlin looked back towards the two fighting knights and was happy to see that the dog’s barking had distracted Valiant enough for Arthur to push him back.

As the two of them struggled against each other, Merlin reached for the familiar magic inside her and said, “ _Bebay odothay arisan quickum._ ” She couldn’t help the smirk that crossed her face when she saw the snakes come out of the shield, causing the surrounding people to gasp in surprise.

“What are you doing? I didn't summon you!” Valiant shouted in confused anger and Merlin laughed out in elation at being able to show everyone who Valiant really was. Her joy was quickly cut short when rather than surrendering, Valiant ordered his snakes to go aftera weaponless Arthur. Before she could react, Merlin heard Morgana scream out Arthur’s name before throwing a sword towards him. She watched as Arthur swung at Valiant with his sword before cutting off the heads from the snakes. When he was no longer in danger of being bitten, Arthur moved closer to Valiant and disarmed him. Even though Merlin felt nothing for Valiant, she couldn’t help but look away when Arthur ran the knight through with his sword.

She didn’t look back until she heard the crowd cheering for their prince. Next to her, the dog barked in excitement, if his jumping around was any indication. “Quiet down, boy,” Merlin said, shaking her head in amusement. Smiling fondly, Merlin looked up in time to see Arthur walking up to her, and remembering how their last interaction went, she turned around and walked back to Gaius’s chambers with the dog following after her.

When she finally made it to her room, Merlin collapsed on her bed, laughing when the dog jumped up next to her. “What are we going to do with you?” she asked as she pettedthe dog that was taking over most of her bed. The dog only panted in answer before closing his eyes to sleep. Merlin sighed and closed her eyes as she thought about how badly her day had gone since the morning, feeling relieved that the day was finally coming to an end.

She didn’t realize that she had fallen asleep until she woke up to someone shaking her. When she opened her eyes the first thing she became aware of was the lack of light coming in through the window. The next thing she became aware of was the absence of a certain dog beside her. Merlin frowned and sat up as she looked up and saw Gaius looking down at her.

“The dog is out there,” he said, nodding towards the other room. “I gave him a bit of food and water. Now the feast is about to start and we need to get going.”

Merlin groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. “Do I need to be there? I no longer work for Arthur and even better, he no longer needs saving,” she said, turning on her side to go back to sleep.

“Gaius!” she cried out when the old man pulled her leg, surprising her when he managed to move her.

“Stop your moping, child. Just because you no longer work for Arthur, it doesn’t mean you don’t have work to do.” Without waiting for a reply, Gaius left her room and Merlin stared after him.

“No ‘thank you, Merlin, for saving the prince’?” Merlin called out. When she got no reply she reluctantly got off her bed and made herself presentable before stepping out of her room. “I’m ready,” she said kneeling when the dog came up to her. “Hello to you, boy,” Merlin greeted, scratching the dog’s ears to his enjoyment.

“Let’s go, Merlin,” Gaius called to her from his spot near the door.

Merlin stopped petting the dog and stood from her spot. After convincing the dog to stay in the room, Gaius and Merlin made there way to the already filled banquet hall. Merlin waved to some of the ladies that she recognized and went to walk up to them when they gestured for her to come over but stopped when Gaius pulled her towards the end of the hall.

“It’s not proper to address people above you in status so informally, Merlin,” Gaius hissed as he looked at the courtiers mingling around the hall.

Pulling her arm from his grasp, Merlin frowned and explained, “But I know them, and they acknowledged me just fine.” Gaius gave her a look and Merlin huffed, crossing her arms in frustration.

Before Gaius could say anything, King Uther spoke over everyone and brought attention to the front of the room. “My honourable guests, I give you Prince Arthur, your champion.” Standing on the tips of her toes, Merlin watched as Arthur went to stand next to Morgana and offered her his arm as the two made their way down the hall to the applause of those surrounding them. Not finding the sight interesting, Merlin dropped back down and turned to see whether she could sneak a drink without anyone noticing, maybe even something to eat if she was lucky.

Unfortunately, she was stopped from doing so when a miffed Arthur stomped over to her, hiding her from the rest of the room.

“Can you believe Morgana?” he started.

“A-are you talking to me?” she interrupted, looking around to see if anyone else was standing near her.

“Who else would I be talking to? Are you always this dense?” Arthur asked and Merlin glared as she turned to face a nearby table and took a piece of bread. If she was going to be made to talk to the aggravating prince then she was going to take advantage of him standing in front of her.

“Are you taking food meant for the courtiers?” Arthur asked in disbelief, distracted from whatever else he was going to tell her. Merlin bit into the bread and nodded.

After swallowing the piece she said, “I haven’t eaten since this morning and I’m a bit famished.”

Arthur looked at her with a weird look and went to stand closer to the table. “The cheeses are good, especially with bread,” he said, gesturing at the different cheeses on the table before scratching his head nervously. Merlin smiled at him, confused at his actions but nevertheless reached for a slice of cheese that she’s never tried before.

She bit into it and scrunched her face at the taste. “No, I don’t think I like that,” she said, scowling when the prince laughed at her reaction. Her scowl turned into a beaming grin when her eyes landed on a brightly red fruit. “But I do love strawberries.” Merlin reached for the sweet fruit and took a bite out of it. “If only I could have these everyday,” she said, smiling up at the prince, who stood frozen in his spot.

Confused, Merlin poked the prince and called out to him. “Sire? Hello?”

Arthur shook himself from his daze and coughed slightly. “Er, what were we talking about?” he asked.

“Strawberries?” Merlin said unsurely, becoming confused when Arthur flushed. Raising a brow in question, Merlin continued and said, “But before that you were complaining about something the Lady Morgana did.”

Arthur huffed and said, “I wasn’t complaining and can you believe that she had the audacity to say that she saved me. Like I needed any help. I had it all under control.”

Merlin rolled her eyes at the reminder as she finished the rest of her strawberry. “Had you listened to me from the beginning, none of this would have happened.”

With that said, Merlin reached for another strawberry as Arthur opened his mouth to protest her claim before closing it again. Sighing, the prince turned to face her and said, “I’ll admit, I may have made a mistake in not believing you. But to be fair you weren’t making a lot of sense.” Merlin looked at Arthur in disbelief before letting it go. It isn’t worth it, she thought.

“Anyway as a sort of reward, I’m giving you the rest of the day off, but I do expect you to be early to work tomorrow morning. My old manservant, Morris, can do your duties for tonight.”

Merlin frowned in confusion and looked up at Arthur. “Uh, hold on. What do you mean early to work? Did you hit your head during your fight with Sir Valiant? Because you seem to have forgotten that you let me go. That means I no longer work for you.”

“Yes, but luckily for you, I’m rehiring you,” Arthur said, smirking down at her. 

Merlin snorted and shook her head. “No, thank you.”

Arthur laughed and said, “I wasn’t really asking.” When Merlin went to object, Arthur spoke over her and said, “My chambers are a complete mess.”

“Because you’re a messy person and can’t keep anything clean,” she interrupted. “And what has your servant been doing all day?”

Glaring at her for the interruption, Arthur continued and said, “My clothes need washing. My, uh, armour needs repairing. My boots need cleaning. My dogs need exercising. My fireplace needs sweeping. My bed needs changing. And someone needs to muck out my stables.”

Merlin grabbed Arthur’s sleeve when he went to leave and pulled him back, ignoring the look he gave her. “Wait, I understand everything you asked me to do, but you have servants to exercise your dogs as well as muck out your stables. It’s what they are paid to do.”

“Yes, but I’m telling _you_ to do them.” Merlin stared after Arthur as he walked away with a smirk on his face. She grumbled under her breath in frustration but then a smile slowly spread across her face as she grabbed one last strawberry and went to find anyone to talk to.


	10. INTERLUDE (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard! (at least for me, don't know how it is for everyone else). I have so much free time right now, yet I have not been able to write anything. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to write since I actually started writing that one before I wrote this one. Hope you guys enjoy it :)

Merlin huffed in irritation as she pushed back a lock of hair from her sweaty face. “I can’t believe he was serious about this,” she grumbled as she struggled to lift the dirty straw onto the wheelbarrow, scrunching her face slightly at the smell that filled the stables.

Near her, a horse nickered and Merlin rolled her eyes. “Yes, the prince _is_ a prat. At least you’re aware of that.” She huffed again as she brought the pitchfork down and scraped the remaining straw from the floor before throwing it into the full wheelbarrow. When it was all done, Merlin moved to cover the floor with new straw, feeling elated thatshe was finally finished.

“There, all done. I can finally get away from this stench,” she muttered, as she took in her completed work, shaking out her hands and rubbing them to ease the pain.

A dark-coated mare that stood near the back of the stables turned to look at her and neighed, and Merlin grimaced and quickly said, “No offense of course. All of you were lovely company.” The mare neighed again, and with a shake of her mane, the horse went back to eating the fresh hay Merlin had laid out for them.

Merlin let out a sigh of relief once she no longer had the mare’s attention and jumped when someone spoke from behind her. “Don’t mind her, Llamrei can be a bit temperamental to strangers,” the person said, and when she turned around she gave a confused look when she recognized the knight that stood just outside the door that led into the stables.

“Right,” she said, looking back at the mare before turning her gaze back to the knight. “Erm…you’re Sir Leon. I don’t know whether you remember me or not. You helped me out with Sir Valiant, but er…I’m M-”

“Merlin,” the blond knight interrupted. “I know who you are. I have to say, you’ve made quite the impression around here.” Merlin blushed at his words and moved to speak but Sir Leon continued. “Particularly with two of my fellow knights.” Sir Leon chuckled as her eyes widened in surprise.

“I see that you are aware of who I speak of,” Sir Leon said, as he leaned against the doorframe, watching her.

“Sirs Josef and Frederick?” she asked, although she already knew those were the knights Sir Leon was referring to.

The knight nodded in response and said, “How those two came to befriend someone who they personally put in the dungeons is beyond me.”

Merlin laughed nervously, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she said, “I still find it hard to believe myself. I don’t normally make the best impressions. In fact, the people in my village would be the first to tell you.”

Sir Leon stepped forward, furrowing his brows in thought as he stroked one of the horses that had moved towards them. “This is my horse, Vortimer,” the knight explained when he noticed Merlin’s puzzled look.

“Oh, do the rest of the horses belong to the other knights?” Merlin asked, pointing to the rest of the horses that paid them no mind.

“Some of them,” Sir Leon said. “Llamrei and Hengroen, that white stallion over there, belong to Arthur.”

Merlin looked to where Sir Leon pointed and couldn’t help but laugh as she noticed how grand the stallion looked. Only the best for Prince Arthur, she thought. Her amusement only grew when she remembered Sir Leon had called Llamrei temperamental, something she could clearly see in Arthur.

“Something you find amusing?” Sir Leon asked, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he watched her.

“N-no, just thought that they look very fit for a prince,” Merlin said, blushing before turning away again.  
“You could say that,” Sir Leon stated, as he pulled out an apple from somewhere she couldn’t see and fed it to Vortimer as the horse nuzzled against him. Merlin smiled at the sight, unaware of Sir Leon studying her until he cleared his throat.

“Any particular reason why you’re here cleaning the stables instead of the stable boys?” the knight asked, as he stroked Vortimer’s side.

“Ar-Prince Arthur said I had to do it,” Merlin said, glowering slightly as she was reminded that it wasn’t her job to clean the stables. She had tried to remind the prince of that when she had went to get him ready for the day, but Arthur had only smirked and told her to get it done before he finished training his knights.

“If you don’t mind me asking, does he treat all his servants like this?” she asked, questioning if the prince treated all his past servants the way he treated her. If so, she wondered what the best way would be to get let go again, and actually making it stick this time.

Rather than responding to her, Sir Leon rose a brow in question, silently asking for her to elaborate. “Does he normally make them do things that aren’t part of their job? Like cleaning stables or exercising his dogs. I was only saved from walking his dogs because the pages in charge of that had already done it by the time I showed up this morning,” she explained frustrated, gesturing towards the general direction of the kennel. 

“Ah,” Sir Leon said like that explained everything, and Merlin had to keep herself from glaring at the smiling knight. “I have a feeling that things will only get more interesting with you here, Merlin,” the blond knight said, chuckling as he gave his horse one last pat and a nod to Merlin, before walking out of the stables.

“Your owner can be a bit confusing,” she said to the knight’s horse. “Why can’t people just be honest and say what they are thinking? Must all men be so mysterious?”

To her displeasure, Vortimer just sidled closer to her and proceeded to nibble at the ends of her hair. Merlin let out a deep sigh before pushing the stallions head away and made her own exit from the stables and walked back towards the castle where the rest of her duties waited for her.

When Merlin entered Arthur’s chambers, she was relieved to note that the prince was not there. She didn’t think she could deal with his presence after having to listen to the castle servants gossiping in the corridors about the prince’s latest heroic act. If it was up to her, she would have stopped all mention of Prince Arthur and his _courageous_ defeat of Sir Valiant. Just the mere mention of the knight made her skin crawl and it hadn’t put her in a good mood when the prince had spent most of the morning droning on about his latest act of bravery, as if Merlin had played no part in it.

Closing her eyes briefly, Merlin took a deep breath in before opening her eyes and taking the room in, contemplating where the best place to start would be. Locking the doors leading into the room, Merlin reached into herself, her magic playfully reaching out as she used it to start sweeping the floor and fireplace as she moved over to Arthur’s bed. She wasn’t able to use her magic when she had been cleaning the stables in fear that anyone could walk in and see her, but finally in the safety of Arthur’s chambers, Merlin gladly released her magic to help with the list that the prince had given her the day before.

With a little help from her magic, Merlin stripped Arthur’s bed and changed the bedclothes to new ones from the cupboard, throwing the dirty ones into a basket along with his clothes that needed washing. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to wash my own clothes, Merlin thought as she looked down at her dirty dress. Once the basket was overflowing with Arthur’s clothes and bed linens, Merlin moved the basket over to the door and then moved to clean the rest of the room. 

When she was satisfied with the state of the room, Merlin released her magic and after unlocking the doors, she gathered the basket in her arms—grunting as she did so—and stepped out of the prince’s bedchambers. Giving a nod towards the stationed guards at the end of the corridor, Merlin made her way to where she remembered the laundry room to be.

Greeting passing servants, Merlin walked down the corridors, humming a tune no one but her could recognize. Lost in thought, she was unaware of someone watching her as she turned down one of the corridors that led to the kitchen and servant quarters.

Struggling with the basket, Merlin pushed open the laundry room and smiled sheepishly when the laundresses looked up from their work. They watched as she dropped the basket filled with the prince’s clothes and linens onto an open table before going back to whatever gossip she had interrupted.

“Merlin, dear,” Edith greeted from her spot over a filled tub. “Is that Prince Arthur’s washing?” 

Merlin nodded, grinning as the older woman made her way to her while drying her hands on her dress. “Well, help me bring it over there, will you,” Edith said, gesturing to the spot she had just left. “I’m just about finished with Lord Walter’s laundry.”

“Oh, yes of course,” Merlin said as she lifted one side of the basket, while Edith grabbed the other. Together they brought the basket over to where the older woman had been working and set the basket down.

“Thank you, dear.” Edith patted Merlin’s arm as she began sorting Arthur’s clothes. “It’ll be a while before I’m finished, but I’m sure there are other things that you need to get done to bide your time.”

“Thank you, Edith. I’ll be back later then,” Merlin said, as she left the older woman to her work.

As Merlin wandered the castle, she debated whether she should try and find the prince or not. Deciding that she didn’t want to be given another list of chores at the moment, Merlin made her way out of the castle and walked towards the lower town. Maybe she could stop by and talk with Borin, she thought, as she changed directions and made her way to the older man’s shop. It soon became apparent that it wasn’t meant to be when she noticed Borin was busy speaking to someone.

Not wanting to interrupt, Merlin caught the carpenter’s notice and waved hello before setting off down the market. The only other person she was friendly with was Gwen, but she knew the older girl would be busy with her duties as Morgana’s maidservant.

“Merlin?” someone called out, and when Merlin looked around for the owner of the voice, she was surprised to see Lady Rhosyn and Lady Nesrin near a stall selling the most beautiful silks Merlin had ever seen. She realized that the two ladies must have been out buying whatever they fancied, as she noticed two servants standing behind the two women, laden with different silks and jewelry.

“Hello, my ladies,” Merlin said as she gave a small curtsy to the ladies, smiling as she did so.

“Merlin, it’s so good to see you,” Lady Nesrin said, as she stepped next to her to intertwine her arm with Merlin’s.

Waving their servants away, Lady Rhosyn moved to take Merlin’s other side and the two women led her down the different stalls.“It was a shame that we weren’t able to properly speak with you during the feast,” Lady Rhosyn said as Merlin looked back at the retreating maidservants.

“Er…yes, turns out I had to work and help attend all our visitors,” she said, distracted as she looked around and tried not to blush at the attention the three of them were garnering as they walked through the market. The two ladies on either side of her didn’t seem to mind it as they stopped in front of a stall that was selling beautiful fabrics and ribbons that Merlin would never be able to afford.

While Lady Rhosyn studied the different fabrics, Lady Nesrin grabbed a deep red velvet made of silkand wrapped it around Merlin’s shoulders, tilting her head in contemplation.

“Oh, yes, so many visiting knights,” Lady Nesrin sighed, practically swooning at the thought. “You are so lucky, Merlin. As Prince Arthur’s personal maidservant you must have spent a lot of time near those visiting knights. That must have been exciting, being surrounded by all those men. Any of them catch your fancy?”

Merlin let out a surprised laugh at the lady’s remark and went to remove the velvet from her shoulders, but Lady Rhosyn took it before she could do so.

“Nesrin,” Lady Rhosyn exclaimed in mock disapproval. “Must you say such scandalous things?”

“Like you don’t want to know?” Lady Nesrin said, “I thought that Sir Valiant was quite handsome. Of course that was before he turned out to be evil.”

Merlin couldn’t help wincing at the mention of Sir Valiant and moved closer to look at the colored silks to hide it from the two ladies. “Sadly, I can’t say that I spent a lot of time around the knights. No excitement for me, except for maybe a few cuts from cleaning the prince’s armour,” she said, chuckling awkwardly. It wasn’t like she could tell them everything that occurred during the tournament.

“Well that’s a shame,” Lady Nesrin said with a frown before taking the velvet from Lady Rhosyn’s hand and lifting it up to Merlin’s face. “Your coloring works so perfectly with this red. What do you think Rhosyn?”

Merlin blushed as the two ladies studied her with the piece of fabric held close to her. “It looks absolutely lovely. This shade of blue also works well or this gold, or maybe…”

Taking a step back, Merlin watched as the two women went through the different fabrics and held them up against her skin. Feeling bewildered, Merlin looked up and caught the eye of the equally confused vendor and smiled helplessly.

“W-what are you two doing?” Merlin couldn’t help but ask as the ladies argued over which shade of blue looked better.

Lady Rhosyn didn’t look up but Lady Nesrin moved over to stand next to Merlin and grabbed her arm to pull her closer to them. “There was a new shipment of fabrics this morning so we have to get the best ones before anyone else can get to them,” the dark-haired woman said as she handed Lady Rhosyn a patterned fabric that probably cost more than anything Merlin could ever make as a servant.“It’s unfortunate that Brina and Amirah couldn’t be here today.”

Misinterpreting Merlin’s overwhelmed look for concern, Lady Rhosyn patted Merlin’s arm and said, “No need to fret, Merlin. We’ve already bought them some lovely fabrics before we ran into you.”

“We’ve been here since the early morning,” Lady Nesrin interjected as she handed over a pile of coins to the vendor and frowned as she looked down at the newly bought fabrics in thought.

When Merlin moved to grab them, the dark-haired lady waved her off and said, “No, Merlin. You’re here as a friend not as our servant. Emma and Matilda—our maidservants—should be back soon. Anyway as I was saying, we’ve been here since the morning and our poor maidservants have been going back and forth with our purchases. It’s been very taxing on our part.”

Thinking about how she had spent her morning, Merlin tried not to laugh at what the lady thought was taxing. 

“There they are,” Lady Rhosyn said, breaking Merlin from her thoughts as she turned to see the two servants with baskets walking towards them. The two girls greeted the ladies and without a word they gathered the fabrics and set them inside their respective lady’s basket.

“Come on, Merlin. We have much to discuss,” Lady Nesrin said as she wrapped her arm around hers. As the women led her further down the market, with their servants following closely behind, Merlin wondered if interacting with the two ladies would always leave her feeling flummoxed. While the ladies chattered away—informing Merlin about the latest gossip—she couldn’t bring herself to care, as long as she was able to keep that feeling of belonging that she had never felt before.

It was a bit of time before Merlin found herself making her way back to the citadel. She had enjoyed her time with the two ladies, who spent most of their time together catching Merlin up on what they had been doing since they had last spoken to each other.

“You won’t believe it, but Amirah had a run in with Sir Frederick during his patrol of the gardens,” Lady Nesrin had whispered to her, as if imparting a secret that Merlin mustn’t tell anyone.

“Poor girl was a mess,” Lady Rhosyn had said, eyes shining with amusement.

Rather than joining their mirth, Merlin had tried to apologize for not speaking with the knight beforehand, the way she had told the four ladies she would. Of course, she _had_ been a bit busy with the tournament and making sure that the prince made it out alive. In the end she had no time to think about helping Lady Amirah or the other ladies. 

“Don’t worry about it, Merlin,” Lady Nesrin had said, waving off her her worries. “After Amirah’s and Sir Frederick’s obvious connection, we realized that we have nothing to worry about. You should have seen Sir Frederick, he’s absolutely smitten with Amirah.”

Despite being thrilled at the news, this had left Merlin wondering whether that meant the ladies would no longer want to be in her presence as she had nothing to offer them anymore. She hadn’t forgotten that the ladies had only spoken and befriended her after knowing that she had a connection—no matter how small that connection was—to Sir Federick. It had only been after she agreed to speak to the knight that they had offered a hand of friendship.

Some of her panic must have shown on her face as Lady Nesrin had immediately put that to rest when she had nonchalantly said, “We get attached pretty quickly, blame it on being able to have whatever we please over the years, so once you’re in our sights that is where you stay.”

Despite wanting to say that she wasn’t a possession that they could just keep, the lady’s assurance had strangely made Merlin feel better and it felt like a weight of anxiety had lifted.

Lady Rhosyn had further put her fears to rest when she had said, “You impressed us, Merlin, and anyone can tell you that doing so is no easy feat. There is just something about you that seems to draw us in and I must say that not everyone in your station would have helped us with the task that we asked of you. If we are being honest, you intrigue us, something we can’t say with most of the other ladies residing in Camelot.”

After that, the conversation had turned to lighter topics until it was time for Merlin to leave. As Merlin reached the castle steps, she was immediately accosted by a harried looking Gaius.

“Where have you been?” Gaius hissed, irritation burning clear in his eyes.

Merlin frowned, feeling lost at the old man’s current anger. “I was down in the lower town, taking a bit of a stroll through the market,” she answered hesitantly.

“ _Oh_ , taking a stroll I see. Hope you had a good time,” said Gaius, who was now raising a brow in faux interest.

“Er…yes?” Merlin watched as Gaius huffed and gestured for her to follow after him. Brows furrowing in confusion, Merlin fell into step with the old man and asked, “What’s going on, Gaius? Did something happen?”

“Something happened alright,” the old man muttered. “Tell me, Merlin, is there anything you may have forgotten about?” Gaius said as he led her back to his chambers.

“Not that I know of,” she responded slowly, thinking if there was anything she may have forgotten to do. She had already finished her duties, so she knew it couldn’t be that, and Gaius hadn’t asked her to do anything that morning except…

“Oh no,” Merlin groaned, covering her face in shame.

“Oh yes,” said Gaius as they walked up the stairs to the physician’s chambers. As they neared the door, Merlin could hear a series of howls coming from inside.

Fiddling with the ends of her hair, Merlin grimaced and said, “I forgot about the dog.”

“You forgot about the dog,” Gaius repeated, gesturing impatiently at the door. “I was very clear yesterday that you had to do something with him _before_ you went off to attend the prince this morning. Imagine my surprise when I went into your room and found a very non-statue dog slumbering on your bed. You’re very lucky Sir Ewan was able to leave early in the morning.”

“W-what were you doing in my room?” Merlin said, chuckling nervously. Gaius was unamused and she huffed in defeat. “I’m sorry, okay. I know I was suppose to turn him back to stone or something. I didn’t purposefully forget your whole speech about how, ‘he’s not meant to be alive’ and, ‘no one knows the long-term consequences of bringing objects to life, Merlin.’ I meant to undo the incantation, I did, but then I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I can’t explain it, but it’s like I could feel him right here,” Merlin gestured towards her chest, “and when I tried to push myself to do it, he just looked at me with those eyes and…I don’t know, Gaius, he just looks and feels so _alive_.”

Merlin looked pleadingly at the old physician to understand, and Gaius frowned in thought, looking towards the closed door where the dog could still be heard howling.

“That’s because he is,” he revealed while looking around cautiously. “All objects animated with an animation spell are essentially alive if the spell being used is a powerful one. The spell you used was one such spell, I’m surprised you even managed to successfully cast it.”

Merlin gave Gaius a look at his words, but the old man ignored it as he said, “However, that doesn’t mean the object _has_ to stay animated once the spell is cast. A sorcerer normally uses the spell for some needed agenda before they undo the spell, with no problem, once they are done.”

“But then why-”

“I’m getting to that. As I keep reminding you, magic isn’t something you can use and not expect consequences, especially if you have no training in it. Magic has to be casted perfectly or else something can go wrong, hence that feeling you got when you went to undo the spell. In certain situations a sorcerer will form a bond with the thing they cast the spell on, mainly when too much power was put into the spell. I could only guess that your magic has intertwined with the dogs very being and I won’t know for sure, unless we can somehow test it, but I have a feeling that ending the bond between you two might do more bad than good.”

Throughout Gaius’s explanation, Merlin frowned as she tried to understand what he was telling her, but in the end there was only one thing that made sense to her. “Are you saying that I can keep him?” Merlin asked hopefully, biting her lip in wait for the physician’s response.

Gaius sighed, shook his head and said, “I might come to regret this, but yes you can keep him-”

“Oh thank you, Gaius,” Merlin exclaimed as she turned to open the door so she could finally enter the room.

“- _while we figure this thing out_ ,” Gaius stressed as he followed behind Merlin. “Until then he is your responsibility. I won’t have you forgetting about him the way you did today or else he’s…”

Merlin and Gaius stopped short when they came upon a horrifying sight. The room was in complete disarray, and right in the middle of the chaos was the dog frantically licking at his paws. Right beside him laid a broken jar that had amber thick liquid oozing out of it and onto the floor.

“He got into the honey!” Gaius exclaimed in anger as he moved to shoo the dog away from his spot. “Bad dog!”

The dog only growled and moved to lick up the honey, smearing the sticky liquid along his snout. Merlin tried to hold her laughter as she watched Gaius try and push the dog away from the honey.

“Get the dog, Merlin,” Gaius chided, glaring up at her before giving up on salvaging the honey the dog was lapping up. Instead he turned and took in the state of the room, frowning deeply at the sight. There were books and broken vials strewed all over the floor, and half eaten plants and herbs that Merlin hoped didn’t upset the dog’s stomach.

“Come here, boy,” Merlin called out to the dog, and to her surprise the dog took one last taste of the remaining honey and bounded over to her. She winced when she noticed the honey paw prints that the dog left behind but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged on her lips when she saw the dog looking patiently up at her.

“That was very bad of you, boy. We don’t go destroying rooms for food,” Merlin scolded, causing the dog to let out a whine as his ears and tail drooped to the floor.

“Here,” Gaius interjected, as he held up a bucket and an old looking piece of cloth. “He’s going to need a washing, so go and do that while I clean up here.”

Merlin grabbed the bucket and cloth from Gaius and frowned down at the dog as the physician moved away from them, grumbling as he did so.

Looking around, she found a lengthy piece of rope and after a bit of maneuvering, she was able to carefully wrap it around the dog’s neck so he wouldn’t run off once they were outside.

“You’re going to be kicked out before you can even have the chance to stay with me,” Merlin warned the dog as she walked out of the room and back down the stairs. The dog only sneezed and lapped at his snout to clean the leftover honey.

Shaking her head, Merlin led the dog down to the well, doing her best to ignore the looks the two were getting. Once they reached the well, she filled the bucket with water and then went to find an empty spot fo her to wash the dog. As if sensing what was going to happen, the dog tried to move away from her, but couldn’t get far due to the rope that Merlin was holding onto.

Merlin huffed, amused at the dogs obvious hate for the water. “Stop that,” she said to the struggling dog. “How can you not like this if you’ve never had a wash before? Just yesterday you were a statue.”

The dog only glared at her as Merlin moved to wash the honey off of him. After a bit of grumbling, the dog stayed still for her and even lifted his huge paws so she could clean them.

“That’s disgusting!” she cried out in between fits of laughter as the dog tried licking her face every time she got close to his face. The dog just barked and tried to knock her down with his heavy paws, panting happily when he did so. Merlin just laughed and said, “Okay big guy, how about we finish up here.”

Once she was finished, Merlin reached for the makeshift towel in order to dry off the dog, but before she could wrap it around him, the dog abruptly shook his whole body, causing water to fly everywhere. Merlin squealed in laughter as she rose the towel to cover her face.

“No! No don’t do that,” she called out to the dog, her voice catching on her laughter.

“What is going on here?” a voice spoke from above her and Merlin’s laughter was cut short when she recognized the owner of the voice.

Lowering the towel from her face, Merlin looked up and squinted up to the person as they moved so that their back was covering the setting sun.

“Sire,” Merlin greeted to the frowning prince, who was looking at the dog. To her surprise, the dog didn’t make a move to growl or attack Arthur, which she found odd as she remembered how he had growled at Gaius the first time he had seen the physician.

“Who’s this?” Arthur asked, stroking the dog’s head when he moved to sniff at the prince.

Surprised at his response to the dog, Merlin looked away and hastily said, “Erm…a stray. I found him wandering around the lower town yesterday, and he just followed me back to Gaius’s chambers.”

“Strange, he doesn’t look like a mongrel,” the prince said as he tipped the dog’s head back and proceeded to check his teeth and to her continued astonishment, the dog let him. At Arthur’s words, Merlin flushed as she thought about why the dog wouldn’t look like one. She couldn’t very well say that it’s because the dog was once a statue that Merlin had brought to life with her very illegal magic so she could save the prince’s life.

Instead, Merlin looked at the prince and said, “I wouldn’t know. I don’t have much knowledge on dogs.”

“What do you plan on doing with him?” Arthur asked.

Merlin frowned, feeling a bit lost as she didn’t think the two of them ever had a conversation that didn’t lead to an argument. Feeling hesitant, she looked at the dog, who was sitting happily in front of the prince, and said, “I’m going to keep him.”

Arthur laughed and shook his head. “No you’re not,” he said, raising a brow as if daring her to argue with him.

“What?” Merlin asked incredulously. She quickly stood up and crossed her arms as she glared at the smirking prince. “What do you mean I can’t keep him? I may work for you, but that doesn’t mean you can dictate what I can and can’t do,” Merlin hissed as she gestured at the dog to come back to her. She felt slightly smug when the dog immediately came back to her.

“I can if I think that having a dog will distract you from your duties. You can barely do them now.”

“I can do my job perfectly well,” Merlin argued.

“You complain every time I ask you to do something, which is what you get payed to do-”

“Barely,” Merlin muttered and smiled when Arthur glared at her.

“A dog is even more work added onto what you need to do as my servant. You have to clean up after him, make sure he’s fed, exercised, and properly trained.”

“That’s all? It doesn’t sound all that different to what I do for you,” Merlin said, and had to keep herself from smiling when Arthur pursed his lips in irritation.

“ _Merlin_ ,” Arthur grounded out. “You’re not keeping him and that’s final.”

Merlin sighed deeply and looked away from the prince as she said, “I don’t ask for much, and I let a lot of things go, but just this once don’t be _you._ Let me keep him.”

“Do you hear what you say as you’re speaking? What makes you think that insulting me will make me change my mind?” Merlin looked at the prince and was surprised to see that he didn’t look as annoyed as he sounded. Biting her lip in thought, Merlin wondered what she could do to get Arthur to let her keep the dog. She knew that in the end the prince could make it so she had no choice but to get rid of him and she couldn’t let that happen.

“How about you give me a week.” When Arthur cocked his head in question, Merlin said, “Just give me a week to prove to you that he won’t distract me from my work. If I can do it, then you have to let me keep him.”

She waited restlessly as she waited for the prince’s response, who just stared at her and the dog. Beside her, the dog whined and looked up at Arthur with wide eyes and Merlin couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

In the end, Arthur sighed and ran a hand down his face. “One week,” he said, and Merlin smiled widely. “I’m giving you one week and you have to show me that you can still perform your duties while taking care of him, without putting them off to someone else.”

Merlin just nodded and looked down at the dog when he moved back to the bucket that had held the water she used to wash him, grabbed the handle and trotted back to them with the bucket held firmly in his mouth.

“Look, he’ll be useful,” Merlin teased as she grabbed the bucket from the dog and held it close to her.

The prince only huffed and turned around to walk back towards the castle. It was only then that Merlin realized he was still wearing his armour that he wore to train with his knights, which she found odd since she had assumed that training had finished in the early part of the day.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Merlin followed after the prince and the dog passed her as he went to walk next to Arthur. “Traitor,” Merlin grumbled.

“Once you put that away,” Arthur gestured at the bucket and towel she was holding, “you are to grab my dinner and then I’ll need you to prepare a bath for me. I have some work that I must complete afterwards so you are free to go once you’ve finished.”

The prince didn’t wait for a response before entering the castle so Merlin quickly walked back to her room, with the dog following after her. She only stopped long enough to drop off the bucket with the towel and to tell Gaius about her agreement with the prince. Once the physician had finished questioning her and warning her to be careful, Merlin and the dog made their way to the kitchen where she was pleasantly surprised after being told that the prince had sent word to have his dinner ready for her to take.

Not questioning the act, Merlin grabbed Arthur’s dinner and left the kitchen, but not before she heard, “-for strawberries?”

Looking down at the tray, she noticed that other than his normal dinner, there was also a pile of strawberries that made Merlin’s mouth water. The sweet fruit was her favorite and it was torture having it near her without being able to eat it.

Next to her, the dog barked and Merlin looked down at him and said, “What? I’m not going to eat it.” The dog only gave her a look of doubt and she huffed as she said, “You are too judgmental for a dog.”

Giving her usual greeting to the stationed guards, Merlin entered the prince’s chambers, stopping only to give a sharp knock before she let herself in.

In the room, Arthur rose a brow, pointed at the door and said, “You actually have to wait to be given permission to come in.”

“It’s always something with you,” Merlin huffed as she entered fully into the room and set Arthur’s dinner on the table. The prince just shook his head but didn’t respond as he stood from his desk and settled down at the table to eat.

While the dog left Merlin’s side and went to sit next to the prince’s chair, she pointed behind her and said, “I guess I’ll be going to prepare that bath of yours.”

The dog only looked up at her but made no effort to get up and seeing this, Arthur gestured at the dog and said, “You can leave him here.”

Sighing, Merlin left the room and set off to have the prince’s bath ready. The hardest part was getting the wooden tub into the prince’s chambers, especially when she couldn’t use her magic to help.

In the end, she rolled it into the room and glared when Arthur laughed and said, “You could have had another servant help you bring that in.”

Merlin huffed, pushing her hair back and said, “But you said I couldn’t ask for help with my work.”

Arthur laughed again. “I said that you couldn’t ask someone else to do it for you.”

Irritated, Merlin threw her hands up and stomped out of the room with the prince’s laughter following after her. It took her multiple trips before she filled the bath with the water she had hurriedly used her magic to heat up. With her back faced to the prince, Merlin used her magic again to keep the water warm while Arthur finished his dinner.

When she noticed he was finished, Merlin left the room in order to check whether the prince’s clothes had been washed—she didn’t feel like being in the room while Arthur took his bath. Entering the room with the laundresses, she looked around for Edith, but to Merlin’s dismay the older woman was no longer there. Fortunately for her, one of the women in the room was kind enough to point her to where Arthur’s freshly cleaned clothes and bedclothes were. Giving the woman a grateful look, Merlin grabbed the basket and slowly made her way back to the prince’s bedchambers. She made sure to take the longer route to his chambers and stopped to talk with passing guards and servants. When she felt enough time had passed, Merlin walked back to Arthur’s room.

With one eye closed, Merlin entered the room and was relieved when she noticed that Arthur had already finished his bath and had at some point moved over to his desk, where he was looking over a piece of parchment. Merlin set down the basket and moved towards the table to pick up Arthur’s tray in order to send it back to the kitchen. She frowned when she noticed that the strawberries had not been touched and Merlin rolled her eyes at the prince’s wastefulness.

“Was there something wrong with these strawberries?” she asked.

“Hmm?” came the reply.

“The strawberries. You didn’t touch them.”

At that, Arthur looked up from his reading and said, “Right. It was a lot of food.”

“I wonder what that feels like,” she said under her breath. “Should I just send them back then?” Merlin asked, wondering if she could somehow eat them before she made it back to the kitchen.

Arthur looked at the red fruit before he said, “It will just go to waste, why don’t you eat them?”

“What?”

The prince rolled his eyes and said, “Eat them. You mentioned that you liked them didn’t you.”

“Are you okay?” Merlin asked as she took one of the strawberries and bit into it before the prince could change his mind.

Arthur didn’t answer her, instead he went back to his work, occasionally stopping to pet the dog’s head. Shrugging, Merlin went back to work and while eating her strawberries, she put away Arthur’s clothes and bed linens into his cupboard, then she immediately cleaned the mess the prince had somehow created after his bath before going out to find servants who were willing to help her remove the wooden tub from the room.

Exhausted from the long day she had, Merlin moved onto Arthur’s bed and prepared it for when the prince was ready for bed. Once she was done, she set out the prince’s nightclothes and gathered Arthur’s tray before turning to the prince.

“Will there be anything else?” she asked.

Arthur barely looked her way as he said, “No, that will be all.”

Frowning, Merlin said, “Come here, boy.” Looking up from where he had been sleeping, the dog whined before standing and making his way to Merlin.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Arthur said, “He’s going to need a name if you plan on keeping him.”

She didn’t respond but when she exited the room, Merlin looked down at the dog and said, “You really do need a name, don’t you boy?”

It took Merlin the whole week before she could settle on the dog’s name. “He’s going to have that name forever, Gaius,” she had said when the old physician had questioned why she couldn’t just pick a name since he was only a dog.

“He’s not just a _dog_ ,” she had argued, before leaving the physician’s presence in a huff.

Desperate to give the dog the perfect name, Merlin had even resorted to asking Arthur, but the prince only ruled out every name she came up with.

“No, you are not calling him Honey, Merlin,” the prince had said.

“But-”

“I don’t care if it’s because of your honey incident. He’s a boy dog and a dog that looks like he can take down a deer on his own is not going to be called _Honey_.” In the end, the prince’s look of disgust at the mere thought of the name had been worth the rejection.

While she struggled to find a name for the dog, Merlin took the dog everywhere she went, or more like the dog just followed her wherever she went. The only time the dog ever left her side was when the prince was around. Although she wouldn’t admit it, Merlin had found herself a bit peeved the first time the dog had left her for the prince, but that immediately changed when she had been walking down a corridor that overlooked the square and she had caught sight of an excited dog following Arthur down to the training grounds. It had been the first time she had ever seen the prince laughing when he wasn’t enjoying someone else’s misfortune.

Soon everyone became used to seeing the faithful dog following after Merlin and on occasion the prince.

“Is that Arthur’s new hunting dog?” Sir Josef had asked.

“No, he belongs to me,” Merlin had said, irritated that so many people thought the dog belonged to the prince.

“Well, he does follow Arthur everywhere,” Sir Frederick had said when she ran into him one day after having finished repairing the prince’s armour. “You should see him in the training grounds. You would think that he was born to be a hunting dog. Seems like a dog Arthur would have.”

Merlin had frowned at the thought of _her_ dog being made to hunt poor animals. “You’re not turning him into a hunting dog,” Merlin had said to Arthur when she barged into his room one day.

“Excuse me?” Arthur had asked, glaring at her for the way she had walked in.

“The dog, you aren’t making him into a hunting dog. He’s too pure to go and kill innocent animals for your amusement.”

Amused, Arthur had raised his brow and said, “Pure?”

Merlin huffed and pointed at the prince and said, “You aren’t turning him into a hunting dog. You have enough of those anyways.” Merlin hadn’t let Arthur argue because once she had finished she had turned on her heel and left the room before the prince could say anything.

The first time the ladies had met the dog they also asked who the dog belonged to, and Merlin stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she said, “He belongs to me.”

“Oh. Really? But he’s so…big,” Lady Brina had said. Merlin later learned that it wasn’t customary for women to have such big dogs unless it belonged to the family. She had only shrugged at that and thought, when have I ever done anything the normal way.

To her surprise, Borin had been the only one who seemed to understand that the dog belonged to Merlin.

“He suits you,” Borin had said as she sat in his shop while he worked on a table for some lord, Merlin had forgotten his name after she heard it. “And I’ve had the privilege of meeting the prince’s dogs and they don’t act like yours.”

When she asked Borin for help on naming the dog he had thought about it for a bit before he told her, “What about Saker?”

“Saker?” Merlin had asked.

“Yes, you’re named after a falcon, why not him?”

Merlin had laughed and smiled at the older man. When she found herself in Arthur’s chamber afterwards, she had brought the name up to the prince as she sat on the floor cleaning the prince’s multiple pair of boots.

“No, absolutely not.”

She had scoffed, annoyed at the prince’s constant rejection of each name she gave him. She still didn’t know why she bothered asking him in the first place. The dog was hers not Arthur’s, no matter what anyone thought.

“You have not liked any name I have given. If you think you can do better, then give it a try. What should I name him?”

At that, Arthur had stepped away from his desk and looked at the lounging dog. “What about Cavall? He looks like a Cavall.”

Merlin had laughed and said, “Well that’s just ridiculous, if I wanted him to have a pompous name I would have named him Arthur.”

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur had warned.

“ _Sire_ ,” she teased.

The two had argued back and forth until the prince finally put his foot down and said, “His name is Cavall.”

Merlin had just rolled her eyes and said, “You can call him Cavall, and I will call him Arthur. I mean I can see the similarities, he gets grumpy if he hasn’t been fed yet and he expects everyone to do things for him while he lays about. The only difference is that he’s adorable.”

Arthur had glared at her for that and it only intensified when she left after calling for the dog. “Come here, Arthur.” Merlin couldn’t help but smile smugly when the dog actually came to her when he called him by the prince’s name. “See?”

“ _Merlin!_ ”

Merlin had laughed the whole way back to her chambers.

It was a few days after that when Merlin gave the name serious thought. She had been visiting Gwen when the older girl asked what she was going to name the dog.

“Arthur,” Merlin had joked as she watched Gwen try and sneak food to the already massive dog. The dog was very fond of Gwen, mainly because the older girl always slipped some form of food to him.

At the name, Gwen’s eyes had widened and said, “Surely you’re joking, Merlin.”

“At this point, I don’t think I am.” She didn’t think it was going to be so hard to name the dog. The week was almost over and she still couldn’t decide. She can’t even imagine what it would be like when she had children—if she ever had any. 

“Does Arthur know?” Gwen had giggled behind her hand as Merlin smirked.

“I told him that I was going to name the dog Arthur after he decided on calling him Cavall.”

“Well Cavall isn’t a bad name,” Gwen had tried to reason. “And would it not get confusing after a while? Calling both of them Arthur when they spend so much time together.”

If she was being honest, Merlin had to admit that Cavall wasn’t a bad name, but she knew that Arthur would become even more insufferable if she decided on naming the dog after a name the prince had chosen, especially after he had refused every name she thought of.

By the end of the day, Merlin had become irritable when people she passed would greet the dog as Cavall. When she had confronted Arthur, she learned that the prince had been telling everyone that the dog’s name was Cavall, and as the week neared its end that was the only name anyone called him.

Although she didn’t try and fight it, Merlin retaliated against the prince by calling the dog Arthur and refusing to call him anything else. She enjoyed watching the prince’s jaw tick in anger every time she did so, but after a while, calling the dog Arthur became confusing, especially when she said the name around anyone who wasn’t the prince.

But not wanting to let it go, Merlin came up with the perfect solution when she entered her room, she had just come back from Arthur’s chambers where he had told her that the dog could stay—as if Arthur was ever going to get rid of him after showing how attached he was to the dog.

As she readied herself for the night and laid down on her rickety bed, Merlin ran her hand against the dog’s side and sleepily murmured, “Goodnight, Artie.”

Artie only barked in response as he snuggled closer to her, and as she drifted off to a dreamless sleep she could only wonder what life was going to bring for her and Artie.


	11. THE MARK OF NIMUEH (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I'm surprised I finished it in time since I've been spending a lot of time playing Mario Kart. I found it a bit weird writing this episode because we all know what happens in "The Mark of Nimueh." Just want to say that I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now.

_In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young girl. Her name: Merlin._

The first thing she was aware of was something cold and wet pressing into her cheek. Groaning, Merlin opened her eyes and was met with a panting Artie, who let out a sharp bark when he noticed she was awake.

Pushing his head away from her, Merlin sat up from her bed and asked, “What is it, boy?”

Outside she could hear Gaius moving around frantically, and Merlin frowned at the sound. What was getting the old man in such a fuss? she thought, as she left the comfort of her bed in order to get ready for the day. After running her fingers through her hair, Merlin tied her frayed ribbon into her hair and walked out into the main room with Artie following behind her, bumping into the back of her legs to make her walk faster.

“Morning, Gaius,” she called out to the old physician as she moved to grab a bowl of porridge that Gaius had made the night before, however, the physician stopped her before she could serve herself.

“Good, you’re up. We don’t have time for that, girl. We’re needed in the lower town right now.”

With a deep frown, Gaius walked over to her and held out a bag that she could see was filled with glass vials, and feeling a bit lost, she took it from him. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, as she pulled the bag over her so she could free her hands.

Instead of responding to her, Gaius turned and walked out of the room. Baffled at the old physician’s sudden departure, Merlin grabbed a piece of bread from the table and gave half of it to Artie. Before she could do anything else, Gaius called out for her and giving Artie a confused look, they made their way out of the room and caught up to the old man.

As they walked down to the lower town, Merlin tried to question Gaius about what was happening, but to her dismay the old man stayed quiet, except when he told her to hurry up. Sighing, she followed behind him and ate the rest of her bread in silence.

Hearing the bells ringing overhead, Merlin was reminded that she still had to attend to Arthur, but she had a feeling that she was going to be late again. If so, she figured she should start working on her excuse for the prince, even if he was used to it at this point.

Just as she finished her piece of bread they made it to wherever Gaius was leading her to, and she immediately had to keep it from coming back up when she noticed the body laying on the floor.

When Artie walked closer to the body, Merlin pushed him back and said, “No sniffing, Artie.” Ignoring the look that Gaius gave her over the use of name, Merlin looked down at the man sprawled faced down on the floor and asked, “I-is he dead?”

Gaius knelt down next to the body and after checking him over, he sighed and said, “I’m afraid so.”

“What do you think happened to him?” Merlin asked, running her hand through Artie’s fur as she watched Gaius turn over the man onto his back so they could get a clear view of him.

When she caught sight of him Merlin gasped out in shock, and Artie let out a low whine and pushed against her when she tried to walk forward in order to get a closer look at the unnaturally pale man. “Gaius?” she said, as the physician continued to look over the dead man.

Gaius looked up at her before looking around and said, “Grab that sheet. We mustn’t let anyone see this lest we want people to panic.”

Going to where Gaius pointed her towards, Merlin grabbed the sheet that was hanged up and immediately threw it over the man when she noticed two people walking their way. “We have to move him, Gaius. We won’t be able to keep anyone from seeing the body if we just stay here.”

“Yes, of course. Go and find something that we can use to bring the body back to my chambers,” Gaius said as he went back to looking at the man without exposing him to anyone who was passing by.

Sighing, Merlin walked away to find anything that could help and was relieved when she immediately noticed an empty cart that they could use. Making sure that no one watched her take it, Merlin grabbed the cart and took it back to Gaius, who only stepped back and watched as she struggled to lift the man onto it.

“You _could_ help, Gaius,” Merlin said, grunting at the excursion. She couldn’t help the huff of laughter that left her when she noticed Artie trying to help her as he pushed his snout against the man and lifted up.

“You have the advantage of youth, my dear, and I’m afraid I’m not as young as I used to be,” Gaius said as he moved to grab one of the handles when she finished laying the body inside. Huffing, Merlin grabbed the other handle and together they quickly made their way back to Gaius’s chambers. The sooner they could figure out what was happening, the better.

As they made their way across the drawbridge, she realized that she was officially late in getting Arthur ready for the day, but looking down towards the covered body she couldn’t bring herself to care. She just hoped that they could figure out what happened to the poor man.

While lost in her thoughts, she wasn’t aware of Gwen’s presence until she called out to them.

“Hello, Gaius, Merlin,” Gwen greeted and smiled down at Artie when he made himself known. “And hello to you too, boy. I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you today,” she said as she rubbed Artie’s head, making his tail wag happily. Merlin rolled her eyes, laughing when she was reminded of Gwen’s habit of feeding Artie every time she saw him.

“That’s a relief. If you keep feeding him, he’ll get too big to take anywhere,” Merlin teased as Artie sneezed when he smelled the purple flowers she realized Gwen was holding. “Off, Artie. Come here.”

“Artie?”

“It’s short for Arthur,” Merlin explained and Gaius sighed while running a hand down his face.

In front of her, Gwen giggled and said, “Only you, Merlin. I don’t know why I’m surprised that you’ve decided to keep his name. Arthur must be livid.”

Merlin shrugged and smiled slyly at the older girl. “I would think it would be an honour.”

Gwen laughed and pointed to the cart with the flowers. “So what are you two doing?” 

Remembering what they had been in the process of doing, Merlin went to stand in front of Gwen and did her best to draw the older girl’s attention from the cart. Throwing a look at Gaius, who only shrugged in response, Merlin turned to Gwen and said, “I’m just moving something for Arthur. It’s nothing important, but you know how he can be.”

“Oh, do you need any help?” Gwen asked as she stepped closer to the cart and Merlin took a step back to keep her from getting a good look inside.

“Er…that’s alright, Gwen. I’m sure you need to attend to Morgana and I wouldn’t want you to be late because you were helping me. Gaius has already agreed to help me,” she said as she pointed towards Gaius, who waved in answer when Gwen looked at him. “Well, if you’re sure,” Gwen said, looking confused as she stared at them. Merlin laughed nervously before coughing to hide her unease.

Behind her, Gaius started to pull the cart and Merlin sheepishly said, “I’ll see you later, Gwen.”

Before she could walk back to where Gaius stood, Gwen stopped her. “Wait, Merlin.” When she stopped to look quizzically at the older girl, Gwen held out one of the purple flowers towards her. “I picked the flowers for Morgana, but I want you to have one.”

Merlin grabbed the flower gently and stared at it as a feeling of fondness for the older girl washed over her. “They’re for Morgana, you don’t have to give me one,” she said, as Gwen laughed and grabbed the flower from her grasp, weaving it into Merlin’s raven hair while being mindful of the ribbon already there.

“Don’t be silly, Merlin. As my friend, I want you to have it.”

Gwen stepped back and looked to where she had put the flower, and Merlin asked, “Well, how does it look?”

“Beautiful,” Gwen said, giggling when Merlin’s face twisted into a grimace. “Oh stop that, Merlin. It looks great. Now, off you go before you anger Arthur by being late. Again.”

Merlin winced and muttered, “We’re a little too late for that.”

Giving Gwen a beaming smile, Merlin grabbed the handle that Gaius was not holding and helped pull the cart in the direction of the physician’s chambers. They had no further trouble getting the cart back to Gaius’s chambers until it was time to carry the body up the stairs.

“Leave the cart here and you can carry him up the stairs,” Gaius said as they stood at the bottom of the steps.

Merlin scoffed and said, “Really, Gaius. I could barely put him in the cart to begin with. What makes you think that I can carry him up the stairs?”

Gaius only stared at her with a raised brow before glancing around to see if there was anyone lurking about. Merlin watched confused as he looked back at her when he was satisfied that no one was in the corridor. It took her a bit before she realized what he was trying to tell her.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked around before she turned to Gaius and whispered, “What happened to not using magic where anyone can see?”

Gaius grunted and gestured at the where the body laid and said, “We don’t have time for this, Merlin. Just grab him and carry him up. However you wish to do it is up to you. And don’t think that I am not aware of you disregarding that rule.”

Blushing, Merlin threw one last glance around before grabbing the man, and with a flash of her eyes she threw him over her shoulder. Once there wasn’t a chance of her loosing her grip, she quickly made her way up the stairs with Gaius and Artie following after her.

When they reached the top, Gaius entered the room and cleared a table for Merlin to set down the body. After gently setting the body onto the table, Merlin took in a deep breath, not knowing she had been holding her breath until her lungs burned in protest.

While holding Artie back from jumping onto the table to sniff the body, Merlin watched as Gaius moved to grab a magnifying glass before coming back to examine the body on his table.

“Hmm, very strange,” Gaius muttered under his breath. 

“Do you have any idea about what happened to him? Maybe a sort of plague?” Merlin asked, looking down at the body. Going by his appearance, Merlin could only assume that the man didn’t die peacefully nor naturally.

“This is not like any plague I’ve ever seen,” Gaius said as he looked down at the body pensively. “Tell me, Merlin. Do you sense anything coming from the body?”

Merlin frowned and looked at Gaius. “Sense? Like with magic?”

“Yes, with magic. Can you sense anything?”

Still confused, Merlin reached out with her magic and tried to sense anything coming off of the man. The instant that she felt it, Merlin gasped and recoiled from the body and looked at Gaius in horror. Beside her, Artie growled towards the body and nudged close to her, trying to push her back from the table.

“Quiet down, Artie,” Merlin said half-heartedly as she continued to stare at a resigned Gaius. “That’s dark magic, Gaius,” she said, gesturing at the body as if to emphasize her point. “I’ve never felt anything like it, not even with Valiant or Mary Collins.”

Gaius sighed as he set down the magnifying glass. “It’s as I feared then. The question now is, who has this kind of power, and what are they after?”

“But magic? How is that even possible? If you hadn’t told me to sense it, I wouldn’t have even realized that this was magic related,” Merlin said, feeling perplexed.

“You’re still new at this, Merlin. It’ll take a while before you are able to sense powerful magic like this.”

“But-”

“Merlin!” someone shouted from outside the door and Merlin looked up in surprise when she realized who was outside.

“Oh no,” she groaned as she rushed to open the door before Arthur could come in. “Er…hello! Did you need something?” Merlin asked as she blocked the prince from entering.

Arthur rose a brow in disbelief and said, “Do I need something? Yes, maybe for my servant to show up to work on time, but I’m beginning to think it’s never going to happen.”

Before she could respond, Artie ran from his spot near Gaius and jumped on Arthur, tail wagging as he tried to lick the prince’s face.

She tried to hold her laugh as Arthur pushed Artie back down. “Down, Cavall,” Arthur ordered, smiling smugly when Artie did as he said.

Merlin glared at the prince when he called Artie by _that_ name and said, “Artie, come here boy.” It was her turn to smile smugly when the big dog went to sit next to her, panting happily.

“You’re going to confuse him,” Arthur said, jaw ticking in irritation.

“Then use his real name,” Merlin retorted, crossing her arms against her chest.

Arthur sighed and pinched his nose, clearly annoyed with her. “I don’t have time for this. Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t send a servant to deliver the message for you. So you _can_ do things for yourself,” Merlin teased.

“Merlin!” Gaius scolded behind her, sounding horrified at her words.

To her surprise, Arthur only rolled his eyes and if she didn’t know better, she would think he was actually amused at her words. When he turned to leave, Artie let out a bark and went to stand next to the prince.

“I’ll take him with me,” Arthur said. “Father won’t be as tolerable with him around if you bring him with you.”

Merlin sighed and closed the door when the prince left. “Gaius…” she said as she turned to look at the physician.

“I know. Cover this up so we can get going. On the way we can discuss your appalling lack of respect when addressing Arthur, the future king of Camelot if you’ve somehow forgotten,” Gaius reprimanded as she covered the body up with the discarded linen.

“Gaius,” she groaned, but the old physician silenced her with a look as he grabbed his medicine bag and left the room. Following after him, Merlin sighed, she was not looking forward to the old man’s scolding.

While Gaius lectured her on respecting those above her station, the two of them made their way towards the council chambers after questioning a passing guard about the king’s whereabouts.

“How did he expect us to know where to go?” she muttered, but Gaius must have heard because he only gave her one of his glares that she was beginning to recognize.

When they finally enteredthe council chambers, Merlin had to keep herself from freezing when she noticed King Uther standing by his throne with Arthur and a restless Artie standing beside him. This was the closest that she had ever been to the king without some celebration to keep him occupied and too busy to notice her. 

Fortunately for her, the king paid her no mind as he focused solely on Gaius, who was kneeling next to a body she hadn’t realized was there. When she took a step forward to get a closer look, Merlin frowned when she noticed the familiar paleness and white eyes that the servant had.

“Gaius,” she whispered, not wanting to draw attention to herself when the king was so close. The old physician looked at her and she knew that he had also noticed the similarities to the other body back in his chambers.

Before they could say anything, King Uther broke in and impatiently asked, “What is it? What’s happened to him?”

Gaius sighed, and standing from his spot next to the body, he said, “I’m afraid I don’t know, sire. It’s the second case I’ve seen today.”

Merlin stood apprehensively next to Gaius as the king stared angrily at them, and she had to keep herself from fidgeting when his gaze briefly met hers. “Why didn’t you report it to me?” King Uther said.

“I was attempting to find the cause,” Gaius responded, looking straight at the king.

“What did you conclude?” the king asked, gesturing at the body. Wanting to know the answer to that, Merlin looked to Gaius, but the old physician just shook his head as he contemplated the body.

“I believe it is unwise to hurry to conclusions at this time without being able to study the body further.”

The king stepped closer to them and with eyes shining with impatience, he said, “What are you concealing from me?”

Frowning, Merlin looked up at the king as he accused the old man of hiding something from him, and beside the king, Arthur gave her a warning look. Gaius, however, seemed unfazed with the king’s reaction as he said, “Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours, and it's spreading fast.”

Suddenly wary, Uther looked towards the people still in the room before turning back to Gaius. “What is the cause?”

Gaius sighed, and with everyone’s attention on him he somberly said, “I think you should say that the cause, the most likely cause, is sorcery.”

The room was filled with shocked gasps, and Uther visibly recoiled at the physician’s words, and Merlin watched as the king turned abruptly towards a confused prince. “Father?” Arthur said, taking a step forward while gesturing to Artie to stay put.

Curious, she watched as Uther pulled his son to the side of the room in order to have some semblance of privacy.

“…who did this.”

Merlin could barely make out the king’s words and she looked at Gaius, who only shrugged as he kneeled next to the body. Kneeling next to him, Merlin strained to hear the conversation between the king and prince.

“Conduct door to door searches…guards on all the gates…physician your servant.”

“Merlin? But…” Merlin looked up when Arthur said her name and caught the prince staring at her. He raised a brow when he noticed her looking back, and she turned away, flushing at being caught listening.

Not noticing the interaction between his son and Merlin, the king continued on. “We need Gaius to find a cure…kind of magic that undermines our authority, challenges…cannot control this plague…turn to magic for a cure…find this sorcerer…” Merlin couldn’t help but flinch when she heard the king mention magic and ordering Arthur to find the sorcerer that was causing this. Even though Ealdor was not part of Camelot, she still grew up on tales of King Uther’s war on magic and his relentlessness when it came to finding magic users. She knew that he wouldn’t stop until the sorcerer was found, not caring if anyone got hurt in the process.

The constant fear that Merlin carried everywhere because of who she was only grew when Arthur said, “Yes, Father.”

“Merlin,” Gaius called out to her, pulling her up from where she had been kneeling. Becoming aware of her surroundings, she noticed that at some point a servant had brought in a cart so they could move the body from the room, and Merlin hurried to help when the servant struggled to lift the body. She gave the servant a reassuring smile when she noticed him shaking when he looked at the body.

“It’s alright,” she murmured so only he could hear her.

“Sorry,” the older boy whispered as he hurried to put the body in the cart. “I’ve never…” The servant stopped and gestured at the body and Merlin smiled sadly.

“Never seen a dead body?”

The servant nodded and when they successfully put the body in the cart, Merlin patted the boy’s arm in comfort. The servant gave her a shaky smile in thanks and with the help of another servant, the cart was taken out of the council chambers.

“You’re really good at that,” Arthur said as he came to stand next to her, Artie following after him.

Merlin jumped in surprise and glared up at the prince. “Don’t do that,” she said and continued to glare when the prince laughed at her. When she looked around she was pleased to see that the king was no longer in the room.

“He left when you were helping remove the body,” the prince explained, narrowing his eyes when she sighed in relief.

“Right, well I should go and start my long list of duties,” she said, preparing to walk away.

“Actually, I’m sure you will be happy to know that I’m giving you the day off.” Before Merlin could get excited about that, Arthur continued, “You are instead going to be helping Gaius with whatever he needs. I don’t think I have to tell you how important it is that you find a cure before more people die.”

At that, the prince left from the chambers and she assumed he was going off to round up the guards in order to search for the latest sorcerer attacking the people of Camelot. As she watched him leave, Merlin thought about the few friends she had managed to make since coming to Camelot, and she hoped that they wouldn’t be affected by whatever was happening.

“Merlin, come on child. We have work to do,” Gaius called from the entrance into the room and happy to find that Artie was next to her, she hurried after the physician as they made their way back to his chambers.

“Do you think that you will be able to find a cure?” she asked.

“With time.”

Merlin huffed and said, “How much time? Isn’t there something that can be done? That was the second person to die today, Gaius. How many more will die before the day is over?”

Gaius looked at her sternly as they made their way into their chambers. “There is nothing we can do at the moment, Merlin. I understand the seriousness of the situation, but until we figure out how to cure this disease, there is nothing we can do except study it.”

“What-”

“And no, we will not be using magic. Uther has every one of his men out there searching for the possible sorcerer and everyone is a suspect. The last thing we want is you using magic and making it worse, understand?” Merlin nodded, resigned to not being able to do anything. Artie whined next to her and sighing, she ran her hand down his head, feeling tension bleed out of her as she did so.

“Let’s get to work,” Gaius said as he stepped up to the body they had left on the table. “Grab me my medical tools, Merlin.”

Quick to grab the physician’s tools, Merlin went to stand on the opposite side of Gaius and watched as he took a scalpel and moved to cut the body open. When Gaius made his first incision, Merlin turned around and covered her mouth, feeling queasy as the physician worked behind her.

“Oh, that’s disgusting,” she said behind her hand as she heard the sounds coming from the body as Gaius worked on it. “And the _smell._ ” Merlin couldn’t help but retch when the smell hit her and she couldn’t even laugh when Artie used one of his paws to cover his nose.

“Enough of that, Merlin,” Gaius scolded. “Go sit down if you’re going to be dramatic.”

She scowled, but did as he said. Artie followed dutifully after her as she went to sit at the table that was usually reserved for eating, and practically fell onto the bench, groaning as she laid her head down.

“Tell me when it’s over,” Merlin said, sounding muffled as her face was pressed against the wooden table. She may have some knowledge on medicine and the different uses for most herbs thanks to the travelers that passed through Ealdor, but Merlin never had to deal with dead bodies before. Next to her, Artie reached up to press his wet nose against her neck, whining softly.

“I’m alright, boy,” she said, laughing when Artie moved to lick her cheek happily. Moving to wrap an arm around the dog, Merlin closed her eyes as she waited for Gaius to finish studying the dead man.

Before she could drift off, Merlin heard a commotion coming from outside, and being the curious person she was, she stood up from her spot and walked over to one of the windows in the room.

“What is going on out there?” she muttered as she leaned over the window sill so she could get a better look.

Furrowing her brow, Merlin noticed that the usually empty square was now filled with guards and she bit her lip worriedly as she watched them stop and search anyone passing through. She wondered what it was they were looking for. She knew that they were searching for the magic user who was causing the current plague, but she didn’t understand how searching people would help. Any sorcerer capable of causing this madness would be smart enough to know that carrying anything unusual would be nothing short of idiotic.

Turning her head, Merlin caught sight of a group of guards down by the drawbridge and she watched as they entered the lower town, dispersing as they searched each home. As the guards made their way deeper into the lower town, Merlin lost sight of them, but her attention was immediately drawn to the people down below. She frowned as she watched them scurry away with their heads down as the guards passed them, not wishing to draw attention to themselves.

“What’s happening out there?” Gaius asked, distracted with his work.

“The guards are out looking for the person causing all of this,” she answered, waving her hand around as she turned to face the old man.

She was relieved when she saw that Gaius had finished with his examination and had thrown the sheet back over the body. Stepping away from the window and making her way closer to the physician, she noticed that he was holding a vial with a white liquid that she was hesitant to ask about.

She watched as Gaius moved over to a table where a candle was burning, and proceeded to pass the vial over the flame, heating the liquid inside.

Curious, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“I'm examining the contents of that man's stomach,” said Gaius as he reached for another vial that held a bright red liquid.

“That’s disgusting,” she said, feeling sick again.

Gaius gave Merlin a reproachful look and said, “Don’t go fainting on me, girl.”

“I’m not going to faint,” Merlin argued. “What is looking at that going to do anyway?” she asked, gesturing at the vial. “It won’t tell you who did it. There is no magic coming off of it and I can no longer sense it on the man anymore.”

“Really?” Gaius said, raising a brow as he looked back at the body. “Interesting,” he muttered as he examined the vial in his hand.

“What does it mean?”

“I’m not sure,” Gaius said slowly. “But it can help us understand how this disease is spread. If you can no longer sense magic coming off of the body, it can mean that it has moved on to another person, or the magical residue left over can not survive once the host has died.”

“And which one are we hoping for?” Merlin asked.

“It doesn’t matter which to hope for when there will be more deaths than we can handle if we cannot find the source of the magic.”

Rubbing her temples to soothe the dull pain she could feel growing, Merlin went to sit next to a sleeping Artie as she said, “Why would anyone want to use magic in this way?”

Without turning to face her, Gaius dryly said, “Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends.” At that, Merlin looked up and glared at the old man.

“Don’t scorn a group for the actions of a few, Gaius,” she warned, and sighed when the physician glared at her tone. “I’ve heard that excuse for as long as I can remember. Those are the words that have been fed to the masses by a mad king, who doesn’t understand that magic is neither good or bad and does not have the power to corrupt anyone. The blame lies on the person and nothing else.”

Before Gaius could say anything, they were interrupted when Artie suddenly stood from where he had been sleeping and began to bark towards the door. Heart pounding, Merlin turned to the door as she tried to pull Artie back.

“What is going on?” Gaius said, as he too turned to face the door. They didn’t have to wait long because the door burst open and Arthur and his guards stormed in. Artie continued to bark and growl, his hackles raised, causing the guards to step back warily until Arthur said, “Cavall, sit.”

To her dismay, Artie did as the prince said and sat next to her, panting happily when Arthur went to pet him. “Good boy,” he praised. 

Merlin huffed and looking down at the dog, she said, “Artie, your name is Artie.” Artie only looked up and barked in answer.

“Is there a reason-” she started, but stopped when she looked up and became aware of how close Arthur was to her. Blushing lightly, Merlin stepped back and asked, “Is there a reason for why you just barged in without making yourself known first?”Clearing his throat, Arthur turned to face his men and gestured at the room. “Well, you can start whenever.” The guards shared a look before moving to search the room. “We're searching every room in town,” Arthur explained as he observed his men, calling to different parts of the room when it was overlooked.

“What for?” Gaius asked incredulously, as he watched the guards searching carelessly through his belongings.

“The sorcerer,” Arthur said as Merlin spoke over him. “Be careful with those you big oaf,” she said, glaring as one of the guards knocked over a pile of scrolls.

When the guard scowled and moved on without picking them up, Merlin moved angrily towards the man, but she was stopped when Arthur grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She exhaled and looked at the prince, who only shook his head in exasperation.

“ _You_ stay here,” Arthur said, pointing at her while moving to help his men search the room.

“Honestly, Merlin, do you ever think? I’m surprised you’ve been able to keep that head of yours intact for all these years,” Gaius hissed as he came to stand next to her. Merlin scowled, and crossed her arms against her chest. “Oh, quit pouting,” Gaius said as he swatted at her arm and left to oversee some of the guards going through his books. 

Merlin frowned and dropped her hands down to her side. “I wasn’t pouting,” she said to Artie, who was the only one still next to her. Artie barked in response and butted his head against her leg.

“What's all these books and papers?” Arthur called out.

Moving back to stand next to Merlin, Gaius said, “My life's work, dedicated to the understanding of science. You are quite welcome to read through them if you wish.”

Merlin laughed and when Arthur turned to glower at her she shrugged and said, “We all know you wouldn’t read them.” She looked to Gaius and winced when she saw the look he gave her. “W-well he wouldn’t,” she defended as the prince turned away and faced towards the door that led into her room.

“What's this room up here?” Arthur asked.

Looking at Gaius, she said, “That would be mine. Unfortunately you can’t go in there.”

“And why ever not?” the prince asked incredulously.

“You can’t just enter a woman’s room. It’s private and not to mention highly inappropriate for you to do so.” Merlin widened her eyes in mock horror and said, “Imagine the scandal.”

A guard laughed somewhere behind her, hiding it behind a fake cough when Arthur glared back at him.

Gaius swatted at her head and Merlin frowned, touching the back of her head. “ _Ow_.”

“Must you always be so difficult?” Arthur said, moving to enter her room with Artie following after him.

Raising a brow in her direction, as if to compel her to behave, Gaius looked towards Arthur and asked, “And what do you expect to find in there?”

“I’m looking for material or evidence suggesting the use of enchantments,” the prince said as he walked into her room, unaware of what his words caused. Heart dropping, Merlin looked worriedly at Gaius, no longer in a teasing mood.

“It’s alright, my dear,” Gaius soothed. “You still have that magic book hidden underneath the floorboards?” Merlin nodded, but before she could say anything, Arthur reappeared and descended the steps that led to her room. 

“How long do you think it may be before you find a cure?” Arthur asked as Artie came to stand next to her.

While Merlin and Artie looked towards the retreating guards, Gaius dryly said, “It depends on how many interruptions I get.”

“Of course, I'm sorry.”

Merlin watched as Arthur and the guards left the room. “That was close,” Merlin said after Gaius closed the door behind the last guard.

“Too close,” Gaius agreed. “It’s even more important now that you don’t use your magic.”

“You’ve already made that perfectly clear,” Merlin grumbled, as she remembered the warning the physician had already given her. “I still think that we could help more people if I was able to use my magic. That magic book has a lot more healing spells that would work better than the one I used to heal Sir Ewan. Just imagine how many people we could cure.”

“Yes, and how would you explain it to the king when he starts to question why people are suddenly getting cured. No, it’s better that we don’t use magic at all,” Gaius said, as he moved to clean the mess the guards had left behind.

Merlin huffed angrily. She didn’t understand what the purpose of having magic was if she couldn’t even use it to help anyone. She knew that she had the power to cure people of this disease and it frustrated her knowing that she wasn’t allowed to. Deep inside her she could feel her magic quivering, asking to be used and it pained her when she had to push it back in wait. _Not yet_ , she told it.

“Fine, how are you supposed to find the cause of this disease without using magic?” she asked, sighing wearily, tired of constantly having to fight against her very being.

Gaius set a stack of scrolls down on the table and turned to face her. “With science. Like I said before, it will take _time_ , but from what we already know, we can narrow down the cause of this disease. _Without_ magic.” When he saw the look on Merlin’s face, Gaius sighed and said, “I know that using your magic to help is tempting, but we can’t risk Uther or anyone finding out.”

Merlin sighed again and scratched Artie’s head in order to help calm herself again before moving to help Gaius clean the rest of the room.

“We’ll do it your way then. Let’s hope that we are able to find the cause before too many people lose their lives,” Merlin said sullenly. Gaius didn’t respond, but only shook his head and sighed.

For the rest of the day, Merlin poured over Gaius’s books, in search for anything that could help, while the physician re-examined the body, making sure that he didn’t miss anything during his first examination.

“This isn’t helping,” Merlin said through a yawn as she watched two servants come in to take the body from the room. Gaius hadn’t found anything new and in defeat he had called to have the man removed.

“We mustn’t give up yet,” Gaius said. “I think we should call it a day for now and start again in the morning.”

Furrowing her brow, Merlin looked at Gaius and said, “But we haven’t found anything. We can’t go to bed yet when people are still dying out there.”

“We won’t be much use to anyone if we are too tired to do our job. We’ll continue in the morning, Merlin.” Before she could retort, a sleepy Artie grabbed at the hem of her dress with his teeth and pulled until she stood up from her seat.

Merlin huffed, but nevertheless followed Artie into her room, but instead of preparing for bed, she moved over to the only window in the room. Pulling herself up onto the table, Merlin opened the window and looked out into the city. The sun was only just setting, and she could only just make out the rows of covered bodies down in the courtyard. Looking away, Merlin sighed sadly, feeling guilty that she hadn’t been able to help them.

“How many more will die before this is over?” she asked, looking back at Artie, who whined and laid his head on his paws. In the distance she could hear a bell ringing as the sun fully set and she watched as guards led people back into their homes.

Frowning at the sight, Merlin closed the window slightly and stepped down from the table, catching herself when she tripped. Letting out a yawn, Merlin prepared for bed and went to lie next to Artie.

Stroking her hand down his side, Merlin sleepily said, “I hope this all ends soon.”


	12. THE MARK OF NIMUEH (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what's happening here, but it happened :D Hope you like the chapter.

Merlin groaned when she was woken up the next day, and as she groggily opened her eyes she realized that Artie had accidentally hit her with his paw in the middle of his sleep. Yawning, Merlin pushed the dog aside and sat up, running her hands down her hair to undo any tangles that may have formed throughout the night.

Once she was done, Merlin stretched and stood up, quickly changing into one of her dresses before going out into the main room. She frowned when she noticed that Gaius was still asleep, and she wondered how early it was if the old man had yet to wake up.

Shrugging, Merlin moved over to the large bucket that was normally filled with water and she sighed when she saw that the bucket was mostly empty. When was the last time they had it filled, she thought as she gathered the remaining water and put it in the bowl that they had been using for Artie.

Searching for the smaller bucket, Merlin grabbed it and left the room, shivering as the cool early morning air hit her. Walking briskly, Merlin made her way down to the well in order to collect water for her and Gaius, only stopping when one of the guards stopped her to ask where she was going.

When she finally made it to the well, she sighed when she noticed that there was already people waiting to use the well.

“Morning, little birdie.” Merlin smiled and turned around to see Borin behind her, holding his own bucket. “It seems we had the same idea, then,” Borin said, shaking his bucket at her.

Merlin laughed and said, “Morning, Borin.”

“And where is that big dog of yours? I’m surprised he isn’t by your side.”

“I left him sleeping, didn’t feel like getting him up just to collect water,” she explained, taking a step forward when the person in front of her moved to fill their own bucket. “He’ll most likely be mad at me for leaving him behind.”

Borin shook his head, amused, and said, “That dog of yours is very peculiar. Biggest personality I’ve ever seen in an animal.”

Merlin laughed and watched as Borin looked around with a pensive smile as he ran a hand through his grizzled hair. “Are you alright?” Merlin asked, brow furrowing as she looked worriedly at the older man.

“Yes, yes I’m alright. Just thinking about what’s been happening,” he said, gesturing around him. “The town has gone quiet. I can’t remember when the last time that happened. Let’s hope it doesn’t last for long, Camelot should never be this silent.”

“Gaius has been doing everything he can to find the cause of the illness,” she said, and had Merlin not been looking at his face, she would have missed the bitter look that crossed the man’s face at the mention of the old physician. Merlin frowned as this hadn’t been the first time that she ever brought up the old man.

Before she could question it, Borin slowly said, “I’m sure he is,” as he looked pointedly behind her, brow furrowed in thought. “Gaius is a knowledgable man and I’m sure he will find a cure, but let’s hope that he is able to do so soon before too many lives are lost.”

“Yes, of course,” Merlin said as she looked up at Borin, still confused at the man’s reaction to Gaius, but the older man only gave her a faint smile.

He gestured behind her and said, “It seems you’re up next.”

“Up next?” she asked, feeling slightly lost as she turned around and noticed that no one was using the well anymore. Shaking her head, Merlin walked up to the well and placed her bucket under the spout. “Were you searched yesterday?” she asked as she moved the pump and watched the water fall into her bucket.

Borin scratched at his stubbled chin and scowled. “Yes, I was. I can’t say that I enjoyed having my home searched by those guards. Almost was put into the dungeons after I threatened to throw them from my shop.”

Merlin gasped and released the water pump. “Borin! You didn’t,” she said, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

Borin huffed indignantly and said, “Those guards just barge into peoples homes with no consideration to anyones property. Three months work gone because those idiots can’t search anything without throwing things around.”

Merlin grimaced as she listened to Borin. From what she had seen and heard around town, Borin was the best woodworker in all of Camelot and was greatly sought after from anyone who could afford his work.

“Will you have to start all over?” she asked as she resumed filling the rest of the bucket with water.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to check over the jewelry box when I get back to the shop.”

“Jewelry box? Surely not the one you were working on for that one lord’s wife?” The last time Merlin had went to visit the older man, he had shown her his latest work that he had just finished. It had been a beautiful ornate jewelry box with roses carved into the lid of the box as it was the lady’s favorite flower.

Borin sighed and moved to fill his own bucket with water when Merlin had finished filling hers. “Unfortunately that was the one,” he said.

Merlin frowned and held her bucket close to her chest. “That box really was beautiful,” she muttered as she cupped a hand into the water and brought it up to her mouth. “But you do make some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

As Borin laughed, Merlin drank the water in her hand and frowned. Reaching into the bucket again, she drank more of the water, scrunching her face every time she did.

“What’s wrong?” Borin asked, moving away from the well with his bucket to allow the person behind him to fill theirs. 

“Oh, nothing,” she said slowly, furrowing her brow in thought as she looked into the water. “It’s just…I don’t know, the water seems to have a strange taste to it.”

“Strange how?” Borin said, frowning as he looked into his own bucket. The older man reached in and cupped water in his hand and drank it before Merlin could stop him. He paused and then drank some more before looking up at her, confused as he said, “It tastes fine to me.”

Merlin frowned and looked up towards the well as she noticed a group of people waiting to fill their own buckets. “Merlin?” Borin said as he looked towards where her gaze had wandered to.

“It tastes fine?” she said, distracted as she continued to watch the people. Beside her, Borin nodded, looking at her worriedly. As a feeling of dread ran through her, Merlin looked down at the bucket and reached out with her magic. She couldn’t help flinching as her magic ran into the foulest magic she had ever felt. It was similar to the magic she had sensed on the body the day before, but this felt even more powerful and darker than the residual magic that had been left behind.

“Oh no,” she mumbled in fear as she realized what this meant.

“What’s wrong, Merlin?” Borin asked, grabbing at her shoulders in order to move her gaze to him.

“We drank it,” she whispered as she looked at Borin with wide eyes.

The older man shook his head, confused as he looked at her in concern. “What? The water? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I have to get back to Gaius,” she said as she stepped out of Borin’s grip. If she was right, and she was sure that she was, she had to tell the physician so they could find a way to fix this. Looking at Borin, she hoped that they did it in time to help both of them before the illness could do anything.

“Darling, it’s alright. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on.” Borin put his hand on her shoulder again and stooped down slightly in order to look her directly in her eyes. Merlin looked away guiltily when she noticed the man’s face twisted in concern for her. She’s never had that feeling directed at her from anyone other than her mother and Gaius.

“I don’t know, I-I just feel like there is something off with the water,” she rushed, hoping that the older man wouldn’t question how she knew.

Borin frowned and slowly said, “You said it tasted strange.” Merlin nodded and the older man looked at her in thought as she fidgeted where she stood.

“But I had some and it tasted fine,” he said as he moved to touch the water.

“Don’t,” Merlin explained as she pushed Borin’s hand away in panic.“Just don’t touch or drink the water, please,” she pleaded.

Borin looked at her for a bit before stepping back. “Okay. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what’s happening or how you know something is off about the water, but okay.”

Merlin sighed in relief and held tighter to the bucket in her arms. “I won’t question you now because there are more serious matters at the moment, but at some point I would like some explanation,” Borin said, raising a brow when Merlin tried to protest. “Go on, I’m sure you want to tell Gaius about this. I’ll stay here and warn everyone not to drink the water.”

“Right,” she said with a grimace. “That is a good idea.”

Borin chuckled. “It is isn’t it,” he teased as he gestured to the castle. “Off you get. I’m sure Gaius will work to find the cure faster if there is a possibility that you have the sickness.” There was a tinge of resentment in Borin’s voice when he mentioned the physician and Merlin gave the older man a questioning but he only shook his head and waved her off as he went to stand in front of the well.

“But you can have it too,” she muttered as she watched him go.

Sighing, Merlin hurried back to the the physician’s chambers with the bucket filled with water held tightly in her hands. Behind her, Borin could be heard insulting anyone who went to gather water despite his warning.

“You bunch of loggerheads!” she heard as she left the lower town.

As she reached Gaius’s chambers, Merlin frowned when two servants stepped out of the room and walked down the corridor that led back into the castle. Confused, she rushed up the steps and entered the room.

“Gaius, you won’t believe-”

“Where have you been?” Gaius interrupted with an irritated look on his face. Next to him she noticed Artie, who was purposefully looking away from her. It wasn’t until she stepped closer to him that he acknowledged her. To her surprise, Artie whined as he pressed his nose against her, sniffing desperately before pressing his nose against the bucket. He let out a low growl and pulled back from it.

Frowning, Merlin went to set the bucket down and almost dropped it when she saw the body of a woman laying on the table. How had she missed that, she thought as she looked at Gaius.

“Who is she?” she asked.

Gaius grunted and said, “She is the latest victim of this illness. She was just brought in while you were off gallivanting about.”

Offended, Merlin glowered and said, “I wasn’t gallivanting about, Gaius. I was down at the well collecting water and I think I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

Merlin sighed and gestured at the bucket. “I think I figured out how the illness is spreading. Through the water. While I was speaking to Borin, I drank some of the water and it tasted odd to me, so Borin tasted it and he said that it tasted fine. It had me thinking and so I reached out with my magic like I did before and Gaius, the dark magic coming off the water is-”

“Wait, wait. You used your magic in front of Borin?” Gaius asked incredulously.

Merlin sighed and said, “That isn’t the point, Gaius, and no I didn’t. Sensing magic is different to using magic. My eyes didn’t flash or anything so he had no way of knowing.”

Gaius only glowered but then said, “The water. How sure are you that it has something to do with the illness.” As he spoke, the physician grabbed the bucket and frowned as he contemplated the water.

“Very sure. It was the same as the one I felt on the man from yesterday, but stronger and darker. I don’t know how to explain it, it just doesn’t _feel_ right.”

“And you drank it?” he asked, raising a brow in judgment.

Merlin frowned. “I had no way of knowing. But I wasn’t the only one who drank the water. Borin drank it too and there were other people collecting water as well. We have to find a way to stop this, Gaius. Before it’s too late.”

“We will have to test the water and see what it’s doing and find a cure from that. Are you feeling any symptoms?” he asked, staring at her in concern.

Merlin blinked and shook her head, she felt fine if a bit anxious. Next to her Artie whined and she ran a hand down his head in comfort. “But what about Borin, and the others? Should we warn people?”

“We mustn’t cause panic without knowing for sure. I will have to bring it up with Uther before anything can be done.”

As she frowned, the physician reached for an empty vial and filled it with the water, being careful to not touch it.

“Well, it’s a bit late for that. I know what I felt and Borin stayed behind to tell people to not drink the water,” she said.

Gaius looked up and said, “And how does he plan on people believing him? He isn’t known as the most reliable person in town, Merlin.”

“That isn’t nice, Gaius,” she said, scowling but Gaius ignored her. Instead he looked around the room, sighing when he didn’t find what he was looking for.

“Where is that flower that Gwen gave you yesterday?” Gaius asked.

“Flow…why do you want the flower?” she asked, confused at the change in subject.

“Just bring it here, will you,” Gaius said shortly and Merlin huffed, going to her room to grab the flower from where she had left it the night before.

When she returned, she gave the old man the purple flower and watched in shock when he put it in the vial. “Gaius! I planned on keeping that,” she exclaimed, glowering at the old man.

“I needed something to test the water,” Gaius defended as he observed the vial with the flower.

Setting her hands on her hips, Merlin said, “And you couldn’t use any of the many herbs in the room?”

“I could not,” Gaius said in disbelief as if she had said something absurd. “Those are for my remedies, and I can’t just get them anywhere.”

Merlin scoffed and gestured towards one of the windows. “There is a garden filled with herbs just for you and not to mention in the market as well as outside of the castle walls. I saw many useful herbs and plants out there when I made my way here from Ealdor.”

Gaius shook his head and said, “What’s done is done. There are plenty of places for you to get flowers, such as that garden you mentioned.”

The physician set the vial down and moved over to the woman laid out on his table and Merlin scowled. “Yes, but Gwen gave me that flower,” she muttered to Artie, petting him between his ears. Still upset, Merlin looked to the body of the woman and furrowed her brow when she noticed the clothes she was wearing.

_“_ She's a courtier,”she said, turning to Gaius.

“Yes, she is,” Gaius said.

“Courtiers also drink from the well,” she said slowly as she came to a realization.

“Yes, the well is where everyone gets their water.”

At that Merlin walked over to the door that led out into the corridor and said, “I’ll be back in a bit, Gaius.” She called over Artie and opened the door.

“Where are you going?” Gaius asked incredulously. “You can’t leave. We have work to do and not to mention you drank the water, what if something happens?”

“Like what?” she asked, worried. “Can I pass on the illness to someone else?”

Gaius shook his head. “No, I was able to conclude that the sickness can’t be passed through contact as courtiers seldom go to the lower town, but I meant that we don’t know when you will start exhibiting symptoms. You have to stay here so I can keep watch.”

Merlin ran a hand down her hair and said, “I won’t be long. There is just something that I have to do.” Without waiting for a response, she left the room with Artie following after her. Now where would the ladies be? she thought as she hurried down the steps.

When she realized that the latest victim of the disease was part of the nobility, Merlin thought about the women that she had befriended during her first week in Camelot, and how they might not even be aware of what drinking the water would do.

And the knights, she thought anxiously as she went down to the gardens, even though she doubted the ladies would be there. She just hoped that Gwen heard Borin’s warning and was safe from drinking the water.

Seeing the gardens devoid of people, Merlin turned and made her way back to the castle and asked one of the servants if they knew where the ladies would be. It took a bit of convincing before the servant agreed to tell her and it wasn’t long that she found herself in front of Lady Nesrin’s chambers. Hearing laughter coming from inside, she knocked hesitantly and waited nervously before opening the door when Lady Nesrin called out “enter.”

“Merlin,” Lady Brina exclaimed cheerfully from where she sat on a bed covered with colorful fabrics. The other ladies had their backs to her and only turned at the fair-haired lady’s greeting.

“Merlin,” came the different greetings. Lady Nesrin rose from her seat and pulled her closer as Lady Brina cleared a spot on the bed before she was made to sit down.

“I can’t stay for long,” she said as she watched Lady Amirah coo over a happy Artie while Lady Rhosyn ran a hand down his back.

“What brings you here, Merlin?” Lady Brina asked, turning to look her over. “I hope you’re well.”

“I’m well, thank you. I’ve just come to ask that you don’t drink the water,” she said without explanation. At her words, the ladies stayed silent, only sharing a glance between each other, and she tugged at the sleeve of her dress nervously.

“Don’t do that, Merlin,” Lady Brina said, laying a hand on hers to stop her from tugging at her sleeve. The ladies giggled and Merlin cleared her throat sheepishly and smoothed down the sleeve as she looked at the ladies.

With a smile, Lady Amirah said, “Very well, we won’t drink the water.”

Merlin opened her mouth, ready to protest, but then she closed it when she realized what the lady had said. “You will?” she asked, confused as the ladies hadn’t even questioned her.

“Of course. If you’re telling us, then it must be important,” Lady Rhosyn said, raising a brow as if Merlin was being purposefully obtuse for no reason.

Lady Nesrin giggled and said, “You’re normally more anxious when you speak to us, as if you’re afraid to offend us.”

“Not that you will,” Lady Brina interrupted. “We actually like you.” The ladies laughed and Merlin blushed.

Going from where she had been interrupted, Lady Nesrin said, “But you asked us to not drink the water like you wouldn’t take no for an answer.So it must be really important that we don’t drink the water. Does it have anything to do with what’s happening?”

At Merlin’s surprised look, Lady Amirah grinned and said, “We heard that you’ve been helping the physician find a cure for the disease. So is Nesrin right? Does this have to do with that?”

“Er…yes, we think that the water is causing it, but it wasn’t until I saw the latest victim that I realized that you also drink from the same supply as the lower town.”

The ladies frowned and Lady Rhosyn asked, “The latest victim?”

“She was a courtier,” Merlin said, wincing when the ladies gasped.

“Oh dear,” Lady Amirah said, laying a hand on her chest. “Why must Camelot be subjected to such evil?” The ladies nodded and Merlin shrugged as she thought about the possible reasons why Camelot would be attacked.

It was much more peaceful in Ealdor, she thought as the ladies wondered who it was that had died and if they had known her. Before she could say anything, Merlin blinked as her vision began to blur. Was the water finally affecting her? she thought as she stood up suddenly, holding onto the bedpost when she felt herself tilting to the side.

“Merlin!” the ladies cried out. She felt one of the ladies grip her arm as Artie pushed at her side.

Merlin shook her head to clear it, but it did nothing for the spinning room. “I’m alright. Sorry, I must have stood up too fast,” she said.

The ladies looked at her skeptically, but Merlin didn’t want to have to explain that the only reason they knew that the water was the cause of the sickness was because she had already drank it. Next to her, Artie whined and settled his head against her hip. Sighing, Merlin ran a hand between his ears.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I have to go find Sir Josef and Sir Frederick and warn them as well.”

“Oh! my dear Frederick doesn’t know,” Lady Amirah bemoaned, fear flashing in her eyes.

“And what of my Francis,”Lady Rhosyn said, looking worried.

Still holding onto her arm, Lady Brina said, “You don’t look so well, Merlin. Go back to the physician and we will send word to warn the knights to not drink the water.”

“We’ll warn the rest of the castle’s occupants as well,” Lady Nesrin said, frowning when she looked at Merlin.

She nodded and before the lady could question her, Merlin stepped away from Lady Brina and made her way to the door. Giving her farewells, she walked out of the room with Artie following closely behind her. She made her way out of the castle and came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, and as a sharp pain ran through her head, she looked towards the drawbridge that led into the lower bridge.

If she was already feeling the effects of the water, she wondered if Borin was feeling them as well. Making a decision, Merlin set off to find the older man, but she stopped when she heard someone crying by one of the steps that lead up into the castle. Frowning, Merlin hesitated before changing directions and made her way towards the person weeping.

“Gwen,” she exclaimed in shock when she noticed the older girl curled up on the steps, crying into her hands.

The girl looked up confused and her eyes widened when she saw Merlin standing over her. Flustered, Gwen tried to get up as she wiped her tears from her face. “M-Merlin, I didn’t see you there. S-sorry about that. I w-would love to talk, b-but I, um, I have errands to run for Morgana.”

As Gwen spoke, Merlin watched as her face twisted in her efforts to keep herself from crying.

“Oh, Gwen. What’s wrong?” she asked as she pushed on the girl’s shoulders until she sat back back down. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be going anywhere for the time being, Merlin sat down next to Gwen with Artie flopping down at their feet.

Gwen shook her head and covered her mouth as a quiet sob escaped her. Worried, Merlin put a hand on Gwen’s shoulder and just sat there until the older girl was ready. When the older girl’s body shook in sobs, Merlin winced and gently pulled the girl into her side, wrapping one of her arms around Gwen.

“I-it’s my f-father,” Gwen said through her sobs.

Merlin’s brow furrowed and said, “Your father? Is he alright?”

Gwen shook her head and took in a deep breath as she sat up straighter and turned to look at Merlin. “H-he has the s-sickness and I-I oh, Merlin, I c-can’t lose him. I just can’t. H-he’s all I have.”

Not able to stop her tears, Gwen sniveled and Merlin turned and opened her arms in invitation. The older girl’s face twisted in anguish and fell into her arms as Merlin held onto her.

“You won’t lose him,” she said, vehemently as she stroked Gwen’s back until the girl was able to breathe without breaking into tears. “Have you gone to see Gaius?” Merlin asked and Gwen nodded.

Hiccuping, Gwen said, “H-he said there wasn’t a-anything he could do.”

Merlin frowned and had the physician been there she would have glared at him for not doing everything to help Gwen. As she held onto Gwen, Merlin wondered how Gaius was meant to help everyone, including her, if he had yet to find the cure. It would be so much easier to just use magic, Merlin thought in frustration.

Gwen sniffled and said, “He’s all I have.”

Merlin sighed sadly and said, “I know. I promise, Gwen, you won’t lose him.”

Gwen scoffed. “You don’t know that. Gaius said-”

“I know what he said, but we aren’t giving up. Okay, Gwen?”

The older girl nodded and said, “I lost my mother when I was just a little girl.” Merlin wrapped her arms tighter around Gwen as the older girl spoke. “She got sick one winter and s-she didn’t make it. There wasn’t anything we could do a-and my father, he lost the love of his l-life but he didn’t let himself mourn for long. I asked him once why he didn’t let himself grieve his wife longer and he said that it was because his children still needed him.”

Gwen let out a sob and Merlin said, “He sounds like an amazing man. I’ll have to meet him once this is all over. ”

The older girl huffed and sat up, smiling at Merlin in thanks. “When my brother, Elyan, left last year it broke my father’s heart and it felt like that time when Mother died. It felt like forever before Father was laughing and smiling again. Elyan leaving hurt me as well and it felt like everything was just falling apart, but Father and I had each other. We’ve been through so much and he has always just been there.”

Looking at Gwen, Merlin was determined in making sure the girl’s father made it out of this. Even if that meant using magic, she thought. “Don’t worry, Gwen. I’m not going to let you lose him. I don’t know how we are going to make it happen, but we will, even if I have to keep Gaius working all day.”

“Thank you, Merlin. You’re a great friend,” Gwen said with a sniffle as she stood up. Merlin also got up, blinking when she felt everything move around her, but she gave the older girl a smile so she wouldn’t question it. “I should get back to my father, make sure he’s alright. I'm really sorry for crying all over you,” Gwen said, smiling nervously, but Merlin waved her off.

“I’m sure you would do the same for me,” Merlin said and Artie barked. “And for him,” she said making Gwen laugh.

“I would, I really would.” With that Gwen waved goodbye and hurried back to her father.

Merlin sighed as she watched her go before setting off to the lower town. She had to see how Borin was doing before she could go back to Gaius. Already she was feeling the effects of the illness and she was sure that Borin would also be feeling it. Even though it didn’t make sense, a part of her felt guilty because if it hadn’t been for her the older man wouldn’t have drank the water, and now his life was in danger. She didn’t know what she would do if Borin didn’t make it out of this.

When she made it to Borin’s shop, Merlin entered and called out to the older man, but no one answered. Artie whined and frowning, Merlin walked further inside.

“Borin?” she called out again and followed Artie when he moved over to the room on the other side of the shop. The door was left open and looking down at Artie, Merlin stepped inside and gasped when she saw Borin sprawled out on the floor.

“Borin!” she exclaimed, kneeling beside him and with the help of Artie, she rolled the man onto his back.

“Merlin?” Borin slurred as he pried his eyes open. He looked up at her, confused before he turned his head and let out a loud cough, making Merlin wince.

“You look horrible,” she said, as she laid a hand on his brow.

“Thank you,” Borin said with a laugh that broke off into a cough.

Merlin huffed and said, “You’re burning up. Can you get up? You should get on the bed.” She pointed to where a bed was pushed against one of the walls in the room.

As Borin struggled to get up, Merlin stood up and helped the older man until he was leaning against her. The two slowly made their way to the bed and as Borin went to lay down, Merlin moved to grab a clean cloth.

“Shouldn’t you be back with Gaius?” Borin asked before breaking into a coughing fit.

Coming back with the cloth, Merlin kneeled beside Borin and used the cloth to wipe the sweat from the man’s brow. “I had to come see how you were doing. It’s a good thing I did.”

Borin chuckled and closed his eyes as if it was too difficult to keep them open. Merlin frowned, feeling confused because although she was starting to feel the illness, she was nowhere near the state Borin was in. Pursing her lips, she wondered how that was possible. She had drank the water at the same time as the man, yet she only felt faint every now and then. Somewhere deep inside she questioned whether it had anything to do with her magic. She wouldn’t be surprised if it did, she thought as she set the cloth to the side.

“What has you thinking so hard, little birdie?” Borin said and Merlin shook her.

“We should get you to Gaius,” Merlin said.

“No, no, I’m alright here. He can’t do anything anyway.” Borin groaned and turned over.

“What is it? Are you okay? Oh of course you aren’t okay.” Merlin fretted over Borin, not knowing what to do. Beside her Artie laid his head on the bed, whining as he watched the two of them. Feeling useless, Merlin tugged at the blanket and tucked it over Borin, before removing it when she remembered that the man must be burning up.

“Merlin, stop. Merlin,” Borin said hoarsely and grabbed her hand when she went to move the sheet again. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “But you will be. I’ll make sure you are, okay? I’ll fix this.”

Borin huffed and smiled as he squeezed her hand in his. “I’m sure you will,” he said. “I’m glad it’s me and not you,” Borin said as he blinked and looked at her with clear eyes.

“W-what do you mean?”

Borin shook his head. “You drank the water too,” he said and Merlin’s heart dropped when the older man tilted his head, giving her a contemplating look.

“I don’t-”

“Yet you seem perfectly fine,” Borin interrupted and she looked away. When Merlin didn’t say anything, Borin smiled and said, “Does it have anything to do with how you knew there was something wrong with the water?”

“I didn’t,” Merlin started, but stopped when she didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t supposed to happen, she thought to herself as she met the older man’s eyes.

Borin gave her hand one last squeeze before releasing it. “It’s okay, darling, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Borin, I don’t.” She tried to protest but the older man only smiled and closed his eyes, coughing slightly.

He patted her hand and said, “It’s okay. We’ll have time.” He then drifted off to a restless sleep. Merlin stayed there, feeling frozen in her spot until Artie tugged at the sleeve of her dress.

Forcing herself to get up, Merlin looked at Borin and said, “I’ll make you better, I promise,” before she walked out of the room and out of the shop, not stopping until she made it back to the physician’s chambers.

“Merlin!” Gaius exclaimed before she could get to her room. Sighing, she turned and walked up him. “Where have you been? Have you been exhibiting any symptoms?” Gaius looked her up and down.

“I went to go see Borin,” Merlin said and she frowned.

“What is it?”

“It’s just, I don’t understand, Gaius. Borin and I drank the water at the same time and he has been feeling horrible like everyone else, yet I’m fine with only a headache,” she explained as she paced in frustration. “Gwen’s father also has the sickness and I, I don’t think it's fair that they are going through this while I’m fine.”

Gaius sighed and said, “I can’t be sure, but it might just be that your magic is trying to fight off the dark magic in the water. It doesn’t mean that you are cured or anything, but you’re magic seems to be buying you time. This is good as it gives us time to find a cure to save you.”

“But not Borin and Gwen’s father or anyone else that has the disease,” she said, huffing angrily. 

“It’s horrible, Merlin. I understand that, but things like this take time.”

“You keep saying that,” she exclaimed and sighed when Gaius gave her a look. “Maybe it’s time that we start looking into different ways to beat this disease.”

“With what? Magic?” Gaius said incredulously.

“Yes! What better way to defeat dark magic than with _magic_?”

“I’ve already told you, that will cause more harm than good, Merlin.” Gaius glared and Merlin huffed and went into her room. Once Artie was inside, she closed the door and looked down at him.

“We can’t just let them die,” she said and Artie barked.

Kneeling next to her bed, Merlin pulled out her magic book and proceeded to go over it until she found the perfect spell that would save Borin and Gwen’s father, wishing the whole time that she could help the rest of Camelot.

When night fell, Merlin slid out of her bed and with a flash of her eyes she made sure that Artie would stay sleeping. She knew that he would be upset about it, but she couldn’t risk bringing him and getting caught by the guards.

Throwing on her cloak, Merlin grabbed the poultices that she had made earlier when Gaius had left to speak with the king and opened her door slowly so she wouldn’t wake up the physician.

Seeing that he was still asleep, Merlin sneaked out of the room and being careful not to be seen she made her way down to the lower town. Before she could make her way to Gwen’s home, Merlin noticed a group of guards walking towards her. Heart pounding, she quickly hid behind a wall and watched as the guards searched the area.

She frowned when she noticed one of the guards poke into a cart filled withhaystacks. Was the sorcerer supposed to be hiding in there? she thought in disbelief. As she watched the guard, Merlin almost missed the guard that had been approaching her hiding spot.

Eyes widening in dread, Merlin looked around in search for something that could help her. Noticing a door across from her, she reached into her magic and whispered, “ _Onstyrian, onbregdan_.”

The door creaked opened, and the guard turned around and went to search the door only to be hit by it once he was close. Snorting, Merlin clapped a hand over her mouth and stood still, waiting to see if anyone had heard.

When she was in the clear, Merlin ran from her spot and hurried to Gwen’s house and stopped outside, looking through the window. She smiled sadly when she noticed Gwen’s father sleeping on the bed while Gwen slept kneeled beside him with her head pillowed on her arms.

Looking around, Merlin quietly opened the door and entered the room. Hesitating, she looked at Gwen and her father and said, “ _Swefe nu_.”

Sure that they wouldn’t wake anytime soon, Merlin stepped closer and put one of the poultices under the pillow. Taking a step back, she quietly incanted, “ _þu fornimst adl fram guman._ ”

She was relieved that she had thought of putting Gwen and her father into a deep sleep because she couldn’t help the gasp that left her when a sickly yellow haze rose from Gwen’s father and disappeared. Laughing in relief, Merlin grabbed the poultice and left Gwen’s home.

Keeping herself hidden, Merlin rushed to Borin’s shop and made her way to where she had left the older man earlier that day. As she walked closer to the bed where Borin laid sleeping, Merlin accidentally bumped into a table and one of the man’s tools fell onto the floor creating a loud thump.

“Who’s there?” came the hoarse voice. Looking up she noticed Borin staring blearily at her. “Merlin?”

Merlin winced and went to kneel beside the bed, hiding the poultices behind her. “Just go back to sleep, Borin,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t question her in his half asleep state. Borin looked confused but he slowly nodded, turned over and fell back to sleep.

Sighing, Merlin put the unused poultice under Borin’s pillow and whispered the incantation again. When the same sickly yellow cloud came out of Borin, she retrieved the poultice and went to leave the room but stopped when Borin turned around and said, “Goodnight, Merlin.”

Merlin looked at him in horror, but the older man had already closed his eyes. Heart pounding, she hurried back to her room and lost in her panic, Merlin only just made sure that she stayed hidden.

Once she was in the safety of her own room, Merlin laid awake as she thought about Borin. Did he hear her use magic? Does he know or did he just wake up once she was done?Merlin groaned, turned onto her side and buried her face into Artie’s side.

As she drifted off, she dreamt that one of the dead rose up and accused her of sorcery in front of the king before grasping at his neck, unable to breathe before collapsing again.

“The witch will burn!” King Uther decreed and Merlin cried out as she was dragged through the square while people threw rotten food at her, screaming “sorcerer” at her. She screamed that she was innocent but no one would listen. At one point she noticed Borin, the ladies, Gwen, and the two knights. They stood further away from the crowd and they looked at her in disgust.

“But I’m your friend,” she yelled at them, pleading.

“We would never be friends with a sorceress,” Lady Nesrin hissed, and walked away with the rest of the ladies and sweet Gwen glared at her before following after them.

“Borin,” she exclaimed, but the older man only glared at her with hatred burning in his eyes as he said, “Burn witch.”

As he turned to leave she was dragged away and she realized that she was now being pulled to the pyre by Sirs Josef and Frederick. “No!” She continued to yell as the two knights tied her up without any remorse. Merlin cried as she watched her friends gather around the pyre, laughing and pointing at her. She watched as the ladies and Gwen held arms as they laughed and sang:

_Up, up on the pyre she goes_

_Oh dear, don’t listen to her woes._

_Up, up on the pyre she yearns_

_Listen as the great dragon calls from down below_

_Up, up on the pyre, watch as the witch burns._

Merlin cried out and struggled when Gaius showed up and said, “I told you not to use your magic.”

“Gaius help me,” she pleaded, but Gaius shook his head and walked away.

As Gwen and the ladies continued to sing the crowd parted as someone holding a flamed torch made their way to the pyre. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

“Arthur,” she said and the prince glared at her with the torch held out in front of him.

“Camelot has no place for sorcerers,” he spat out as the ladies danced around him.

“Please,” she pleaded.

“ _Up, up on the pyre, watch as the witch burns._ ”

Arthur dropped the torch and Merlin screamed.


	13. THE MARK OF NIMUEH (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I was having problems with my computer so I couldn't finish the chapter but I finally got it fixed and was able to finish it. This one was originally going to be the last chapter for the episode but then it got too long (20 pages) so I just decided to cut it in half and make it into two chapters. Hope you enjoy them!

_Merlin…Merlin…Merlin_

_“_ Merlin!”

Merlin gasped for air and struggled to sit up but she was immediately pushed down. Blinking rapidly, Merlin looked around the room wildly until she focused on Gaius standing over her.

“Gaius?” she said, groaning in pain when her throat felt like it was on fire. “What…” She broke off as her body was overtaken by a coughing fit. “What’s happening?” she asked hoarsely as she took in a deep breath.

“You’re burning up, child,” Gaius said as he moved to grab a piece of cloth and Merlin flinched as those words reminded her about her dream. If she thought hard enough she could actually remember the feeling of the burning flames running up her body and she couldn’t help the tremor that went through her.

Artie whined and with a pained groan Merlin shook her head and pushed her blanket away as she tried to sit up.

She didn’t get far. Before she could make it all the way up she fell back when she felt the room tilt around her. “Stay down, Merlin,” Gaius said as he tried to keep her down. “You won’t be going anywhere until we can find a cure for the illness.”

“Cure?” she asked groggily unable to grasp what the old man was saying.

“You’re ill, Merlin. It seems the sickness has finally taken a hold of you.”Gaius sat beside her and dragged the cloth across her brow.

“I can’t just stay here,” she rasped as she ran a weak hand down Artie’s head when he laid it on her stomach.

“Get off,” Gaius shooed and Artie whined as the old man tried to get him off of Merlin.

“Gaius,” she tried sternly but it was ruined by a series of coughs that she was unable to control. “My throat feels like it’s burning.” She went to turn over on to her side in hopes that it would help alleviate the pain coursing through her body but it only made her feel dizzy.

“It’s best if you just stayed on your back,” Gaius said as he helped her when all she could do was groan in pain. Before she could say anything someone knocked outside and Artie barked, wagging his tail, and Merlin cried out in pain when the sound resounded in her head. With tears streaming down her face, Merlin tried to curl herself into a ball but Gaius wouldn’t let her.

“Quiet down, Artie,” Gaius exclaimed and the dog whined and pushed himself against Merlin’s side. “Here, Merlin. Try not to move too much, I’m going to go see who that is.” Gaius set the cool cloth on her burning brow and made his way out to the front room. As she forced herself to stay awake, Merlin could hear Gaius speaking to someone outside but she couldn’t make out his words.

“Who do you think it is?” Merlin said, wincing when the words grated on her throat. Artie only looked at her sadly as he licked at her hand and Merlin chuckled weakly as she moved to pet him. 

She didn’t know how much time passed before Gaius entered her room again. Despite her blurry vision she could see the displeased look on the old physician’s face.

“What’s wrong? Who was it?” She tried to sit up again but she was too weak to do so. Merlin growled in frustration and let herself fall back again, wincing as a pulsing pain ran through her head when it was jostled.

“What have I said about staying down?” Gaius chided. “It wasn’t anyone important,” he said and Merlin frowned when the old man didn’t look at her.

“Who was it, Gaius?” she asked again and the old man sighed.

“It was Borin. He said he had to speak with you, but I sent him away as you are in no state to have any visitors.”

Merlin froze as she listened to Gaius and was reminded about what she had done the night before. She shuddered in fear as she remembered Borin waking up after she had just used her magic to heal him and now he was showing up at Gaius’s chambers asking to speak with her. Did he know? she wondered as she looked towards the table in her room and for a moment her heart stopped in panic. The enchanted poultices were gone. She was sure that she had left them there, but now they were missing.

Filled with panic, Merlin struggled to sit up again and she could feel Gaius glare burning through her but she payed it no mind. Out of breath, Merlin used her arms to lift herself, leaning against the wall and Artie to help support her weakened body.

“You are going to be the death of me,” Gaius groused as he retrieved the cloth from where it had fallen. “You won’t find them. I got rid of them when I realized what they were.” The old physician continued to glare at her and Merlin flinched, looking away guiltily.

“I don’t know what you were thinking, using magic at a time like this,” he said, causing Merlin to wince at the sound. Gaius sighed but continued in a lower voice to help ease her pain. “What if you had been seen, Merlin? I feel as if I keep repeating myself but it seems that you are never listening.”

“I do listen,” she said in protest. “But as I’ve said before, you can’t expect me to just sit back and do nothing. I just wanted to help Gwen and Borin. They’re my friends.” Gaius glowered but Merlin stared back defiantly as much as she could in her current state.

“Even if it caused one of them to be taken in on suspicion of using magic?” Gaius said and Merlin looked up in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“What did you think was going to happen when Tom and Borin were suddenly cured with no explanation? Gwen was taken in for questioning. Uther thinks that she’s the sorceress that has brought on this disease.”

“What?” Merlin shook her head as she tried to process what she was being told. How could Gwen be accused of being a sorceress when Merlin had left no proof to suggest that magic had been used. Merlin groaned and ran a hand down her burning face. “How is that possible if I didn’t leave the poultices behind?”

“It seems that is the only right thing you did.” Merlin glared at the old man. “Even if you didn’t leave anything behind, the fact that Borin and Tom were cured while people are still dying is suspicious enough. Word got out and made its way to Uther and so he had Gwen brought in.”

With a pained groan Merlin struggled to stand up and Artie tried to push her down but she moved away. Feeling unsteady, Merlin shakily made her way towards the door, ignoring the spots overtaking her vision.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gaius exclaimed causing Merlin to wince.

“I have to help Gwen.”

“You are in no condition to help anyone. You need to rest while I figure out how to stop this sickness. Gwen is okay for the time being, we have to worry about you right now.”

Merlin turned around, stumbling as she said, “How can she be okay? She’s being accused for something she didn’t do.”

Frowning, Gaius stood from his spot and moved towards her. “Even though she’s being held, Gwen hasn’t been sentenced with anything since the king has no proof that she cured her father. Lady Morgana was able to convince him that Gwen couldn’t have healed her father since Borin was also healed and there was no connection between the two, which is why you need to stay here before someone realizes that the only connection these men have is you.”

Before she could protest, Gaius moved around her and walked out into the main room. Using the walls to support her, Merlin shakily followed behind him. She smiled gratefully at Artie when the dog came up beside her, using his body to support her when she nearly tripped as she coughed harshly. Moaning in pain and misery, Merlin let

Artie lead her over to one of the benches in the room and sat down as she watched Gaius move around the room.

“What if we just cure more people with the poultices? That way we can prove that Gwen is innocent and help the people of Camelot.”

Gaius glanced over to her before shaking his head. “Uther will only see that as proof that Gwen is the sorceress he’s looking for.” When she went to interrupt, the old man held a hand up and spoke over her. “If magic is used to cure everyone the king will think that Gwen was doing it in order to save herself and that would only end in her death. No, it’s better that we don’t do anything and just focus on finding a cure.”

“But I can just cure everyone and I’m sure we can find a way to make it seem like it was your science that fixed it all.” Gaius glared at her but Merlin ignored it. “I can just make more of those poultices and we can administer them to the people. No one will ever know we were using magic and Gwen would be freed.” As she watched the physician, Merlin laid her head down as she waited for Gaius to respond.

“We can’t know for sure that it will work. It could just make everything worse. Nevertheless, in your condition you won’t be able to use your magic to power those poultices. I’ll be surprised if you could even use it to lift a simple feather.”

Frowning, Merlin reached deep inside where her magic laid and shuddered at the sickly feeling coming off of it. “The illness is affecting my magic,” she muttered and Gaius nodded as he looked through different vials holding liquids she couldn’t name. “How did you know?”

“Sickness always has a way of affecting those with magic. The magic always gets weaker. I’m sure you experienced this when you were a child and just didn’t realize it.”

Merlin shook her head and said, “I didn’t really get sick growing up.”

“Never?” Gaius said frowning, and Merlin shrugged. “Interesting,” Gaius muttered but didn’t say anything else on it.

Instead he held up a vial and said, “I think that I’m getting closer to the cure. I only need to figure out what is contaminating the water.”

“And how do we do that?” she asked as she wiped the back of her hand against her sweaty brow.

Gaius frowned as he looked her over before sighing. “By checking out the water supply beneath the castle. While I do that, you are to stay in your room resting.”

“What? No, Gaius,” she argued, sitting up straight. She tried to keep herself from showing how the sudden movement affected her but she wasn’t successful as Gaius rose a disapproving brow.

“I wasn’t asking, Merlin. What sort of physician and guardian would I be if I allowed you to walk around when you’re so ill. I won’t be long.”

Gaius left the room before she could say anything, and grunting in frustration she laid her head back down on the table while Artie nudged her with his snout, whining slightly.

“I can’t just stay here,” she said to him. Merlin stood from her spot and after making sure she wouldn’t fall back, she walked towards the door, using Artie to keep herself from falling. As they exited the room she noticed that no one was around and made her way down the steps, covering her eyes when the sunlight reached her aching eyes. Grabbing onto Artie, Merlin blinked rapidly as she tried to ease the pounding ache she felt in her head. Once she was sure she could look without feeling as if someone were shoving a dagger into her skull Merlin made her way to the dungeons, thankful that she had Artie to help her.

When she reached the stairway that led down to the cells, Merlin stopped to take a deep breath and cautiously made her way down. She had never meant for any of this to happen when she had set out to cure Borin and Gwen’s father. Merlin had only wanted to help and now Gwen was being held in the dungeons for something the older girl hadn’t even done.

Once she reached the bottom, Merlin turned to enter the dungeons but stopped when the Lady Morgana came into view.

“My lady,” Merlin said, feeling flustered at the lady’s sudden appearance. “Are you alright?” she asked when she realized that the lady’s eyes were red from crying. Morgana nodded as she wiped her face before furrowing her brow in concern when she caught sight of Merlin. “Merlin,” she exclaimed making Merlin wince in pain. “You don’t look well.”

“I’m alright,” Merlin said, but the lady only glared in disbelief and moved closer to her.

“You’re burning up and you look so pale,” Morgana said anxiously as she touched Merlin’s forehead with the tips of her fingers and Artie whined beside her as he looked up at them. Morgana spared him a glance before focusing on Merlin again.

With a grimace, Merlin moved the lady’s hand away and said, “My lady,” but stopped when the woman looked at her in disapproval—even though Merlin was not to blame as she hadn’t spoken to the lady since they had first met and she didn’t want to assume that she could still address the lady by her name.

“Morgana,” she said with slight hesitation, “thank you for the concern, but I’m fine. I just came to see Gwen. How is she doing?”

That got the lady to take a step back as she glanced over her shoulder and sighed. “She’s doing okay for the time being.” Morgana turned back, frowning and said, “Gwen doesn’t deserve to be here and I can only hope that the person behind this is found soon.” 

Merlin winced at the lady’s words as she was reminded that Gwen was in the dungeons because of her. A feeling of guilt washed over her and she was at a loss on what she shoulddo.

“She’ll be happy to see you,” Morgana said, interrupting Merlin’s thoughts. “I know you two are close and Gwen needs all the support she can get while she’s going through this.”   
Morgana’s words didn’t lessen Merlin’s guilt and she looked towards the dungeons. “I’ll be happy when she’s no longer in there,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can to get her out. I know she would do the same for me.”

Morgana gave her a small smile and said, “You’re a good friend, Merlin. You aren’t alone in this though. I’ve known Gwen long enough to know that she would never do this. I want to help.”

“Wouldn’t that look bad with the king?”

Morgana glowered at the mention of King Uther and Merlin furrowed her brow as she watched the lady. “Don’t worry about Uther, Merlin. As his ward he wouldn’t dare do anything to me. He’ll just think it’s something else I’m doing to get his attention.”

Merlin frowned. She didn’t think the king would just let it go if he thought Morgana was going against him but it wasn’t her place to say anything.

Morgana smiled kindly at Merlin and said, “I think I’ve kept you long enough. You should go and see her. Hopefully next time we see each other it will be under better circumstances.” Merlin nodded in agreement and giving her a wide smile, Morgana walked towards the stairway. 

After making sure Morgana was gone, Merlin made her way down the familiar cells with Artie following closely beside her. “Gwen?” She called out and hearing rustling coming from one of the cells, Merlin stumbled towards it.

“Merlin?” Gwen said from inside the cell as she rushed up to the door, wrapping her hands on the bars.

“Oh, Gwen, I’m so sorry that you’re in here,” Merlin said hurriedly before the older girl could say anything else. “I’m going to do everything I can to get you out. Are you okay?”

Opening her mouth to respond, Gwen looked Merlin over and said, “Am I okay? Merlin you don’t look well. You look just like Father did when he…” The older girl’s eyes widened in horror as she she said, “You have the sickness. But how-”

“That isn’t important right now, Gwen.”

“Isn’t important?” Gwen said in disbelief. “You can die, Merlin! A-and you’re here instead of resting. How could Gaius be okay with that?”

With a grimace Merlin shrugged and said, “He doesn’t know that I’m here.”

“Merlin!” Merlin winced as the sound made her pounding headache worsen, which she didn’t think was possible.

“I’m fine,” she tried to reason, but Gwen didn’t seem to believe her as the older girl only glared at her. “It doesn’t matter. Gaius is looking for a cure and I have to find a way to get you out of here.”

“Merlin,” Gwen said with a sigh. “You don’t have to worry about that. You should be in bed, resting. I know how my father was when he had the illness and he could barely move a finger. I’m honestly surprised you could make it this far without falling over. If you really want to help, then go back to your room and rest. I’m fine. A day in the dungeons is not going to do anything. You should know what it’s like.”

Merlin huffed at the reminder of when she had spent a night in the cells. “But I wasn’t accused of sorcery. What if Uther changes his mind about you while I’m _resting_?” Gwen went to speak over her but Merlin shook her head, regretting it after when her vision darkened before clearing again. “Nothing you say is going to change my mind, Gwen. I’m going to find a way to help you and then everything will be okay.”

“And who is going to help you? You are in no state to be wandering around Camelot and if something happens to you because you were too busy trying to help me, then I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

Merlin sighed and looked away. How could she be expected to do nothing when Gwen was in the dungeons because of her? She didn’t know what she would do if the king changed his mind and called for Gwen’s execution. The memory of the burning pyre from her dream crossed her mind, and Merlin shuddered at the knowledge that if they couldn’t stop the illness soon, then it could possibly be the older girl facing the burning flames in the future.

“I have to go,” Merlin muttered as she pushed on Artie so he could follow after her. “Next time I see you it would be to see you released from here, and this will all be over.”

“Merlin,” Gwen called after her, and she turned to face the older girl. “J-just be careful.”

Merlin gave Gwen a small smile and left back towards the stairway that would take her away from the dungeons, but before she could make her way up she heard her name reverberate through her head making her cry out in pain.

_Merlin…_

Eyes filled with tears of pain, Merlin turned to face the archway that led down to a certain cave. Furrowing her brow in confusion she muttered, “Kilgharrah.”

Making sure no one was around, Merlin changed directions and hurried down towards the cave, only stopping to lean against the stone wall when she felt like everything was tipping to the side. Setting her warm brow against the cool stone, Merlin could feel herself becoming weaker and she could only hope that she had enough strength to do what she had to do before the sickness overtook her.

Next to her, Artie whined and pushed his big head against her and Merlin quickly shushed him before anyone could hear him. “I’m alright, boy. Come on, no need to keep Kilgharrah waiting.”

With the help of Artie, she made it down to the cave and as they neared the opening, the giant dog growled and tried to keep her from taking a step further. “Artie! What are you doing?” she exclaimed, hoping to calm the dog down before her head burst from the noise. With a sigh she slowly moved around him and called out, “Kilgharrah?”

Overhead the familiar sound of the dragon’s flapping wings could be heard and soon the Great Dragon landed on the giant rock before her. “It seems that you have brought me dinner,” the giant dragon said as he brought his head closer to the growling dog, who had his hackles raised as he stood in front of a worried Merlin.

“Kilgharrah! He is not your dinner and, Artie, come here.” Glaring at the chuckling dragon, Merlin ran a soothing hand down Artie’s head as the dog came to stand next to her but still slightly in front of her.

Kilgharrah pulled back slightly but continued to look the dog over. “I prefer my food to be bigger,” he said with a huff. “It wouldn’t be appetizing anyway with the amount of magic coming off of it.”

“He is not an it,” she groused and took a step closer, being mindful of the edge. “What _do_ you eat?” she asked curiously as she looked down into the cavern before stepping back when she became dizzy.

“Anything that wanders in,” Kilgharrah said as he pointed his head towards the light coming into the cave.

Merlin frowned. “Does the king not provide you with food?” To her surprise the Great Dragon threw his head back and let out a loud, humorless laugh that shook loose rocks from the cave walls. Merlin groaned in pain but didn’t say anything as she watched the the dragon.

“Uther would sooner give up his kingdom before giving me anything,” Kilgharrah said with rage burning in his golden eyes, causing Merlin to flinch at the sight. An anger of her own rushed through her as she listened to the dragon. The idea that the king denied his _prisoner_ food was horrifying to her, yet she did not find it at all surprising. When it came to magic, Merlin knew that Uther Pendragon held no mercy.

Before she could respond, the dragon fluttered his wings in agitation and moved his gaze down to her, his eyes narrowing as he took her in.

“You’ve been tainted,” he growled and Artie barked in warning.

“Wha-”

“You have been tainted with dark magic. It’s killing you,” Kilgharrah said as he sniffed the air around her. Merlin winced at the bluntness in the dragon’s words.

“There’s a disease going around,” she explained. “It’s spread through the water and people are dying. We haven’t been able to find the cure.”

“So you drank the water instead?” Kilgharrah said with a tone dripping with judgement.

Huffing, Merlin threw her hands up and said, “I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t realize that it was the cause of the illness until after I had drank it.”

Kilgharrah laughter reverberated around the cave. “What is the reason for your magic if you don’t use it? Even from down here I can tell you where the dark magic is coming from.”

“It’s not that easy,” she said, but Kilgharrah only stared down at her. “Do you know what’s causing the illness or at least how to stop it?” Merlin asked with a sigh.

Kilgharrah laughed and said, “I do.”

“Could you tell me?”

“I could.”

When the dragon didn’t speak further, Merlin groaned in frustration, massaging her brow to ease the ache. Why couldn’t the dragon ever answer her fully when she needed his help? she wondered. People were dying and Kilgharrah didn’t seem to care, not that she could blame him.

“Kilgharrah, please. I need your help. What if this disease takes me before I could help anyone? What will happen to your Albion then?”

The dragon huffed and said, “You won’t be dying any time soon, young witch.” Merlin winced. “Use the elements that are at your command.”

“The elements? Why can’t you just tell me what I have to do without the riddles?” she asked in frustration.

“How will you ever become the witch you are meant to be if I have to tell you how to do everything?” the dragon rumbled. “Trust in yourself and you will find a way to defeat this evil, but you cannot do it alone.”

“Arthur?”

The dragon fluttered his wings. “You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other.”

“Now I just think you’re making things up to confuse me, Kilgharrah.” The dragons laughter filled the cave as he prepared to fly off.“Could you at least tell me what I’m fighting?” she said.

“I have a feeling that you will find out soon,” Kilgharrah said as he flew off, amusement clear in his ancient voice.

“Well, that was helpful,” she grumbled to Artie, who only tilted his head in answer.

With a weary sigh, Merlin made her way back to the entrance and stumbled her way up the stairway until she was out of the dungeons with the help of Artie. Blinking at the shining sunlight, Merlin rushed back to the physician’s chambers. Hopefully she would be able to get there before Gaius returned from checking the water supply.

She should have known that it wouldn’t be that easy. As soon as she entered the room, Merlin immediately noticed Gaius searching furiously through the different books piled on one of the tables.

“Where have you been?” Gaius exclaimed putting down a thick book.

“I had to go see Gwen. It’s my fault she’s in there and I couldn’t just lay in bed without making sure she was okay.”

Gaius huffed in disapproval and gestured for her to sit down. Sharing a look with Artie, Merlin made her way towards the table and sat down with the giant dog laying down at her feet. The old man reached for the book he had set down and turning the pages, he handed it over to her. Blinking to clear her blurry vision, Merlin looked down at the page and frowned when she noticed the illustration of a weird creature near the bottom of the page.

“Afanc?” she asked as she read the name below the drawing. “What’s an Afanc?”

“While you were visiting Gwen, I made an interesting discovery during my visit down to the water supply. Just as I had finished retrieving a sample and was preparing to leave, this creature reared up out of the water.”

“An Afanc?” she asked again as she looked back at the page, hoping it would tell her what it was.

“It’s a beast born of clay, and can only be conjured by the most powerful sorcerer. This beast has been the cause of the plague.”

“Clay?” she muttered while Gaius walked away to his pile of books.

“If we can just find a way to defeat it, the illness will end. But where to start?”

Merlin paid him no mind as she read more about the Afanc. “Made from earth and water,” she murmured and frowned. As she read on, the words Kilgharrah had said to her fluttered in her aching head. _Use the elements that are at your command_. But how could she use the elements to defeat the creature?

“If the Afanc is made from earth and water, do you think that the other elements can be used to kill it?”

Gaius looked up from his own book and frowned in her direction. “It’s a possibility that if it was created by two of the four base elements then it can be hurt with the other two, but we can’t know for sure.”

“Unless we go and try,” she said, already knowing that it would work. That was if she hadn’t misinterpreted the great dragon’s words.

“Of course not,” Gaius said, but Merlin only stood from her spot, holding onto Artie when she felt lightheaded and about to tip over. “You can’t even stand, Merlin. How do you expect to fight a creature without knowing for sure that using the elements will work? What if you are wrong and you get hurt or make things worse?” Merlin flinched at his words.

“I’m not wrong. I have a feeling that this is going to work,” she said in protest. “Just trust me.”

Gaius gave her a long look and for a moment Merlin believed he would say no but then he let out a long sigh. “There is no way I can stop you?” She shook her head and the old physician sighed again and said, “Very well. What do we need to do?”

“We have to go down to where the Afanc is and use the other two elements on the creature.”

Gaius rose a brow as she explained and said, “And how do you plan on doing that? You can’t go down there on your own in your condition and I am no match for an Afanc. Once it knows what you are doing, the creature will do everything to stop you.”

Before Merlin could answer, the door to the room was opened suddenly and a hurried looking Morgana rushed in. “Morgana? What’s wrong?” She asked as she moved to step closer to the worried lady.

“Uther is running out of patience and I don’t know how long I can keep him from declaring Gwen as the sorcerer creating this plague. I overheard him speaking to Arthur. If they don’t find the sorcerer, he plans to execute Gwen in hopes that it would stop the sickness.”

“What? But Gwen is innocent. How can he do that when he has no proof that she did magic?” Merlin asked in disbelief. For a moment she struggled to breathe as overwhelming guilt rushed through her. If Gwen was killed because Merlin had done magic, she didn’t think that she would be able to live with that.

“It wouldn’t be the first time he used someone as an example to keep people from using magic, even if it’s the wrong person.” Even in the middle of her panic, Merlin could hear the anger in Morgana’s words as she spoke about the king, and Merlin couldn’t blame her. “If we want to save Gwen we have to prove that she’s innocent,” Morgana pleaded.

“We have been working on a way to help her,” Gaius said as he gave Merlin a worried look.

“Please, just tell me what I can do to help. Gwen is my friend and I can’t just leave her in Uther’s mercy.” Merlin sighed and ran a hand down Artie’s head as she thought about her options. It would be easier to go down to the water supply and defeat the Afanc on her own, but she didn’t think she had enough strength to defeat the beast with just her magic. She could feel the illness running through her body every second and she didn’t have time to argue why Morgana coming with her would be a bad idea. Kilgharrah had made it clear that she wouldn’t be able to do this without help, even if he did mean Arthur.

As if reading her thoughts, Gaius spoke up beside her and said, “You are going to need Arthur if you wish to succeed.”

Merlin turned to glare at the old man but he only rose a brow. Morgana stared at them in confusion. “Arthur? Why do we need him?”

Gaius and Merlin shared a glance, but didn’t say anything until Artie whined and pushed his head against her side. With a sigh, she turned to Morgana and said, “There's a monster, an Afanc, in the water supply. Gaius saw it when he went down there earlier and we believe this creature is what's causing the plague.”

Morgana looked at them in horror and half turned towards the door. “Well, surely we must go and tell Uther? If he knows it’s this Afanc that has caused this disease, then he will set Gwen free.”

“Wait,” Merlin said before Morgana could take a step towards the door. “You can’t tell him.”

“Why not?” the lady asked incredulously.

“The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just use it as proof of Gwen being a sorceresses and blame her for conjuring it.”

“That makes no sense,” Merlin muttered.

“If we can’t tell Uther, then what are we to do? We don’t have much time and people are still dying. Not to mention that Merlin is sick with the illness.” Morgana gestured at her and Merlin frowned at the attention from the lady and Gaius.

“I’m fine,” she said but they didn’t believe her. Sure the constant blurry vision was starting to become a pain, as well as the burning feeling that she felt deep inside her chest whenever she coughed or spoke, and her whole body ached in a way that she had never felt before, but overall she was fine. 

Merlin huffed and waved their worries away. “We need to destroy the Afanc. Then the plague will stop and hopefully Uther will be willing to listen once the threat of people dying is no longer an issue.”

“And that’s why you need Arthur.”

Merlin and Gaius nodded, even if she would prefer to leave the prince out of it. In her state, she knew that she had no hope in defeating the beast on her own. “He's our best chance, unfortunately.” Morgana smiled in amusement while Gaius hit Merlin’s arm in disapproval.

“And we can’t go ourselves?” Morgana asked as Merlin rubbed her arm.

“Absolutely not. Merlin is in no condition to go slaying an evil beast on her own and if it were up to me she wouldn’t be going at all. As for you, Uther will have our heads if you came to any harm.”

“I can take care of myself,” Morgana said in indignation.

“Er, I’m sure you can but either way we are going to need more help if we want to defeat the Afanc. As much as I don’t want to admit it, Arthur probably has more experience killing beasts like this one.” Morgana pursed her lips, but nodded to show that she understood why they needed the prince. “Now, we just have to find a way to get him to listen because the last time I tried to warn him about magic being used he let me go.”

“Merlin,” Gaius said with a shake of his head.

Morgana chuckled, looking slightly confused. “Don’t worry, just leave it to me.” With that, Morgana rushed out of the room without looking back.

“How does she make that look so elegant?” Merlin mused, looking down at Artie, who didn’t seem to be interested in what she said.

“If you intend on going along with this plan of yours, you’re going to need this.” Merlin looked to Gaius, who was holding up a key. “This will let you into the tunnels. Will you be taking him with you?” Gaius gestured with his head over to Artie, and before she could say anything the big dog made his way towards the door and sat down, waiting for her.

“I think that means yes.” Merlin reached for the key, but Gaius moved it away from her. “Wha-”

“I understand that you feel the need to go and do this, but remember that you are not at full strength due to the illness that you seem to forget you have.” 

“I haven’t forgotten,” Merlin said, frowning. It was impossible to forget when she felt like she was going to drop at any moment. Gaius rose a brow and Merlin huffed at the look the old man gave her. “I’ll be careful.” She reached for the key again and to her relief Gaius didn’t pull it away from her. 

“Do you know what you are going to do?” Gaius asked her.

Merlin paused. “Well I thought I would just figure it out once I’m there.”

Gaius shook his head and waved her off. “Of course.”

With a shrug, Merlin left the room with Artie following beside her.


	14. THE MARK OF NIMUEH (4)

Gripping onto the big dog, Merlin walked towards the Square, doing her best to ignore the stares that she was getting from those passing by. As she wiped at her brow, Merlin hoped that killing the beast would rid the disease from her body. She wondered if anyone else was able to feel it coursing through them or if it was only because of her magic that she was able to feel it at all.

With a hand on Artie, Merlin slowly made her way to the Square and was surprised when she saw Arthur and Morgana making their way out of the castle.

“Huh, I’m honestly surprised you were able to convince him to come,” Merlin said when the two neared her.

Morgana laughed. “Did you have no faith in me, Merlin?”

“I had all the faith, my lady,” she said with a small smile as Artie went to greet Arthur before returning to her side. “We should get going. I don’t know where the tunnels are so-”

“What’s wrong with you?” Arthur interrupted as he looked her up and down.

Merlin frowned, feeling offended as she said, “What?”

“There is something off about you,” the prince said as he continued to look at her. Morgana laughed behind her hand as Merlin looked down at herself, feeling uncomfortable as Arthur continued to stare at her.

“Merlin has the sickness,” Morgana said and Merlin watched as concern flashed across the prince’s face before it disappeared.

Merlin huffed and with a roll of her eyes she said, “Don’t worry, you won’t be losing your servant. Once we kill this thing I’ll be ready to clean your chambers again, which I’m sure they are as dirty as ever since you are unable to clean up after yourself.”

“Oh, I knew I liked you,” Morgana said through her laughter.

Arthur only glared at them before walking past them and towards where she assumed the water supply tunnels were. Seeing that Morgana was with Merlin, Artie barked and ran after the prince.

Morgana watched as the two walked away from them with an odd look on her face. Merlin nudged the lady on the side and with the woman’s help, Merlin and Morgana followed after Arthur.

“It’s a shame what’s been happening,” Morgana said as she watched the people walking past them. “So many people have lost their lives to this illness. I just don’t understand why anyone would do such an evil thing to these innocent people.”

“I don’t know either. We can only hope that this will all end once the beast is killed.”

Morgana hummed and grabbed Merlin’s arm when she lost her footing when she grew dizzy. “Are you okay?” Morgana asked, voice filled with concern as she held onto her arm.

Embarrassed, Merlin nodded and tried to withdraw her arm from the lady’s tight grip but Morgana didn’t let her. “Oh no you don’t. You’re close to collapsing. You should probably head back to Gaius’s chambers but I have a feeling that you won’t approve of that.”

“You would be right,” Merlin muttered as Morgana led her to the water supply tunnels. Shaking her head to clear her vision, Merlin could make out Arthur and Artie in front of them and she was pleased to note that they had yet to look back at them.

Morgana chuckled and patted Merlin’s hand that was wrapped around the lady’s arm. “And I thought I was stubborn. Just hold onto me.” With that, they hurried their pace as much as they could in order to reach Arthur before he got too far.

“Is he always this dramatic?” Merlin couldn’t help but ask when she watched Arthur draw out his sword when they reached the tunnel door, looking ready to barge inside.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so,” Morgana said, giggling when the prince looked back at them with a glare. “I think he heard us.”

Merlin gave the lady a pained smile before she stepped forward, holding up the key to the door. “You’re going to need this to get inside.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed the key from her. Giving her one last glance, the prince opened the door and went inside with Merlin, Morgana, and Artie following closely behind him. The prince grabbed a torch that had been leaning against the stone wall and quickly lit it.

“Here,” he said as he handed the torch over to Morgana before reaching for another one to light up. Merlin frowned when Arthur proceeded to descend the stone steps and into the tunnels.

“Don’t I get one?” Merlin asked as she followed him, using one hand against the wall so she wouldn’t fall down the stairs. She gave Morgana a small smile when she stepped closer to her to help her down the last steps.

“Would you even be able to hold it in your condition?” Arthur said with a tense jaw as he looked over at her. “You shouldn’t even be here. Maybe you should just stay put and let me handle this. You’ll just end up getting in the way if we have to worry about you collapsing on us and getting hurt because you were foolish enough to get yourself in this situation.”

Merlin glowered at the prince and walked past him, doing her best not to loose her footing as her legs trembled, feeling too weak to hold herself up. As if he could sense it, Artie ran up to her and stuck to her side as they walked down the tunnel.

“Way to go, idiot,” Morgana hissed behind her before she stepped next to Merlin. “Don’t mind him, he can be a bit-”

“Infuriating?” Merlin said and the lady laughed.

“That’s one word I would use.” Merlin shook her head and they became silent as they walked further down the tunnel, their footsteps and Artie’s panting the only thing that could be heard.

Merlin shuddered as they made their way deeper into the tunnel and she knew that it had nothing to do with the sickness overtaking her. The closer they got to the beast, the stronger Merlin could feel the power coming off of it.

It wasn’t long before Artie began to growl and act the way he had when he had met Kilgharrah. Before she could do anything, Artie walked past her so both Morgana and Merlin were behind him. As they came to a stop, Arthur made his way to the front and stood next to Artie as he waved the torch in front of him, looking to see if there was anything there.

She couldn’t help the gasp she let out when the tunnel was filled with the sounds of a growl that didn’t come from Artie.

“I’m going to guess that that was the Afanc,” Merlin whispered and Arthur turned around to face them.

“You both should stay here,” he said and Merlin scoffed.

“I know you think yourself a great fighter, but please tell me you don’t think you are capable of going up against this creature on your own.”

Arthur glared at her and opened his mouth to respond but Morgana interrupted him. “There is no way that I’m staying here and Merlin is right. If this is because you want all the glory, then you can forget it. You can be arrogant later but you aren’t going on your own.”

“This isn’t about glory,” Arthur growled as he tightened his hold on the torch he was holding.

“Are you sure? What other reason would you keep us from going with you? Surely it isn’t because you think Merlin and I can’t take care of ourselves,” Morgana said with a smirk and Merlin couldn’t help but laugh at the look of exasperation that crossed Arthur’s face.

“I don’t have time to argue.”

“Then don’t. We’re going with you.”

“You know Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you,” Arthur tried but even Merlin knew that he had no hope in winning against Morgana. Despite not having spent time with the lady since the first time they met, Merlin had heard and seen enough to know that the woman didn’t stop until she got her way.

“Well good thing he doesn't know about it then.”

“I'm telling you, Morgana, turn back. You could get hurt.” Merlin could see the worry flashing through the prince’s eyes and she wondered if any of the rumors concerning Morgana becoming the future queen held any truth. It was clear that Arthur was concerned for the lady’s safety and she didn’t think she has ever seen him look at anyone the way he looked at Morgana in that moment.

The lady either didn’t see it or care as she just smirked and said, “You could too... if you don't get out of my way,” before pushing past the prince and walking off. 

Merlin laughed at the look on Arthur’s face. “Don’t say anything,” he said as he glared at her.

“I wasn’t going to, sire.” Merlin planned to leave the same way Morgana had, but instead her legs nearly gave out on her and she had to lean against the tunnel wall. She groaned as she waited for everything to stop moving, sighing in relief when the cool stone touched her burning brow. Artie whined beside her and Arthur cursed as he grabbed her arm.

“Thank you,” she muttered as she pushed away from the wall.

“ _You_ definitely should not be going with us,” Arthur said with a groan.

“Yes, you’ve already made that perfectly clear,” Merlin said as she awkwardly brushed off the prince’s hand and followed Artie down the tunnel towards Morgana.

Behind her Arthur sighed and muttered, “Why must women be so difficult?” before following after her.

“How are we going to find this creature?” Morgana asked when they finally reached her. Merlin glanced around and noticed that the tunnel broke off into two different directions.

“Our best bet is to go to the water source, that’s where Gaius saw the Afanc,” she said as Arthur moved ahead of them and walked towards the tunnel on their right.

“This way.” Without a word the three along with Artie made their way down the tunnel. Merlin shuddered as the dark magic became stronger the closer they got to the water supply and it seemed that Artie could feel it too.

“He’s seems very protective of you,” Morgana whispered as Artie pushed them closer together as he looked around, sniffing the air for the creature. Before she could respond, they came to an abrupt stop when Arthur spun around and held his torch out towards the place they had just passed.

“What is it?” Merlin asked as she looked to where the prince was staring, squinting when she didn’t see anything.

Arthur shook his head. “It’s nothing, just a shadow.” Merlin frowned and continued to look at the place the prince had seen the shadow. “Come on, Merlin,” Arthur said as Morgana and him continued to move down the tunnel. Artie nudged her when she didn’t move, and giving one last glance towards the wall Merlin followed after the other two.

“Is it just me or does it feel like we are being watched,” she said as she came up behind them.

Arthur shushed her but still looked around to make sure nothing was following them. It was a relief when they finally reached the water supply. Arthur turned around and with a bit of hesitation he said, “We should spread out. Merlin you go that way.” He gestured to where they had just come from.

“We just came from there,” Merlin said with a frown.

Arthur huffed. “Can’t you just do what you’re told without complaining? Morgana you go that way.”

Merlin rolled her eyes and turned back, making her way back into the tunnel they had just left. “Come on, boy. Let’s hope this doesn’t take too long,” she said, looking down at Artie, who only pushed himself close to Merlin’s side when she stumbled a bit.

They didn’t get far before Merlin heard a loud roar echoing through the tunnel and she did her best to cover her ears but a new wave of pain ran through her head. “Arthur,” she said weakly. With a bit of difficulty Merlin rushed back towards the water cavern, sharing a glance with a worried Morgana. Artie began to growl as he looked around and Merlin was quick to shush him.

“What is it? Are you alright?” Morgana said as she looked over Arthur.

The prince gave her a quick nod in acknowledgment as he moved the torch around, searching for the beast. 

“Did you see it?” Merlin asked as she took a step closer, huffing when Arthur put out his arm to hold her back.

“Yes,” Arthur said, glowering when she pushed his arm away.

“Did you see what it looks like?” She asked, keeping an eye on Morgana when she walked deeper into the tunnel where the Afanc had been.

“It... it's quick.” Arthur turned and when he noticed what Morgana was doing he took a step towards her and said, “Morgana, don’t get any closer.” But it was too late.

Merlin couldn’t help but jump in surprise when Morgana let out a loud scream when the Afanc jumped out from the tunnel. Before Arthur could take it out with his sword, the creature disappeared.

“Where is it?” Arthur demanded and Artie let out a bark and went down a different tunnel.

“I think it went this way,” Merlin said as she went to follow the dog. Arthur and Morgana hurried after her. They slowly walked down the tunnel as Merlin called out to Artie.

Arthur glared and shushed her. “We don’t want to give up our position,” he said.

“I’m sure that thing knows where we are, not to mention we haven’t exactly been quiet this whole time.” As usual Arthur ignored her and walked ahead of her. Beside her Morgana laughed and followed after the prince.

Before anyone could say anything else, they watched as the beast crept slowly around a corner. When it came into full view, Merlin grimaced at the sight.

“Why would anyone want to create something so disgusting?” she said to Morgana, who had the same look of disgust on her pale face.

Merlin jumped back when the Afanc roared and surged forward. Arthur swung his sword at the creature but it didn’t seem to do much.

“Watch out!” Arthur swung again and the beast swiped at him causing the prince to jump back and lose his sword. Seeing him weaponless, Morgana moved forward and waved her torch around in order to push the creature back. Before she could do more than cause the beast to growl in anger, Morgana cried out in shock when the Afanc moved to her and caused her to lose her torch.

“How are we supposed to defeat this thing?” Morgana asked as she jumped away from the creature. Merlin looked around in hopes that she could figure out how to kill the Afanc. As she did so she didn’t see as Artie ran past her until Arthur called out to him.

“Artie!” Merlin yelled out in fear when she watched the dog jump on the Afanc causing the creature to rear back in an attempt to knock him off. Heart dropping, Merlin took a step towards the creature, but Arthur blocked her as he tried to move around the Afanc, looking for an opening. Seeing the torch in his hand an idea wormed its way into her head. When she saw that Artie had been able to push the beast against the tunnel wall Merlin turned to Arthur and said, “Arthur, use the torch!”

“What?” Arthur said, bewildered even as he moved forward with the torch.

“Just do it. Artie come here.” Once the dog jumped off of the Afanc, Arthur swung the torch at the Afanc. Taking a deep breath, Merlin reached inside herself and pulled her magic to the surface, struggling as she did so.

“ _Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan_.” As she muttered the spell, Merlin grunted and fell against the tunnel wall, sliding down to the floor when her legs could no longer hold her. Artie whined and pushed against her as if trying to help her back to her feet, but not having the energy to do so Merlin gently pushed him away.

It seemed that the little magic that had not been tainted by the illness had been keeping her going, but as she let it out Merlin no longer had anything to keep her upright. As her vision blurred, Merlin watched as her spell blew the flames from the torch onto the Afanc and she winced when the creature roared as it was incinerated.

The instant that the beast was killed, Merlin gasped as she felt the sickness leave her body. She shook her head as she struggled to get up, trying to get used to the odd feeling.

“Merlin!” Morgana cried out as she moved to where Merlin had rose to her knees, still feeling weak despite being cured. “How do you feel?” the lady asked as Arthur rushed forward and helped her to her feet.

“I feel fine,” Merlin said, petting Artie as he sniffed around her. “A bit weak, but I don’t feel like I’m going to drop dead any moment. I guess that means I still have to clean your chambers, sire.”

“Funny,” Arthur said with a roll of his eyes as he let her go and made his way back to the water cavern.

Merlin wobbled for a bit, no longer being supported, until Morgana reached her for arm.

“I’m very glad that you’re okay again, Merlin. We should probably follow him before he decides to leave us,” Morgana said, eyes filled with laughter as she helped Merlin back to the cavern.

When they turned the corner they stopped and watched as Arthur reached for something inside the water.

“Did you find anything?” Merlin asked. Arthur didn’t say anything but instead he held up half of an egg shell that seemed to be covered in weird marks.

“What is that?” Morgana asked, taking a step closer.

“It seems that this is where that thing came from,” Arthur mused as he looked the shell over.

Merlin reached for the shell and looked over the markings, frowning when one of them looked familiar. “We should let Gaius look it over. He may know what the markings mean and it could help prove Gwen’s innocence.” 

Arthur sighed but agreed to it as they left the tunnels. With the danger finally gone and her no longer ready to collapse at any moment Artie barked happily and ran down the tunnels, leaving the trio to follow after him.

Tired from the latest confrontation, Merlin walked slowly behind Morgana and Arthur as the two conversed quietly in front of her. She was glad when they finally reached the steps that would get them out of the tunnels, laughing when she noticed an eagerly waiting Artie.

“Hurry up, Merlin,” Arthur called out as he walked up the steps. Merlin rolled her eyes but hurried after the other two. Once they made it back to the Square, Arthur handed the shell to Merlin. “Take this back to Gaius and see if he can make anything out of it.”

“And what are you going to do?” Morgana asked before Merlin could say anything, crossing her arms as she looked at the prince.

Arthur sighed. “I’m going to tell Father that the beast that caused all of this has been killed.”

“Will that harm Gwen?” Merlin couldn’t help but ask and Morgana nodded in support.

“Not if you have Gaius look that thing over. I can hold Father from doing anything hasty now that the current threat is over, but having Gaius’s input will help.”

Merlin nodded and looked at Morgana, silently asking what she was going to do.

“I’ll go with Arthur and see if I can convince Uther to let Gwen go, if not he will wait to hear what Gaius has to say.” With that, Morgana and Arthur made their way back to the castle.

“Lets just hope this can prove Gwen’s innocence,” Merlin said to Artie as they hurried back to Gaius’s chambers. As she entered the room she was happy to see that Gaius was still there.

“Merlin? How did it go? I’m assuming you killed the Afanc as I have been down to the lower town and people seem to suddenly be recovering from the illness,” Gaius said as he walked over to her.

“We did. The instant Arthur killed it I immediately felt better as if I was being cleaned from the inside. My magic still seems to be a bit weak though,” she said, frowning as she felt for her magic.

Gaius looked her over and said, “It may take a while before you are at full strength again. You over exerted yourself and your magic has been trying to catch up. Now that the Afanc is gone I insist that you finally get some much needed rest.”

“I will once Gwen is out of the dungeons.”

“Merlin,” Gaius said in disapproval.

Merlin sighed and held out the shell that Arthur had found. “We may have found something that could help.” Gaius rose a curious brow and grabbed the shell from her. “I couldn’t recognize the markings but that one right there seemed familiar to me but I couldn’t place it.” When she pointed to the mark, Merlin was surprised when Gaius let out a shocked gasp as he studied the mark.

“Where did you get this?” he demanded, looking at her in horror.

“Er, Arthur fished it out of the water supply where the Afanc was. I think it’s where the creature came from. Why? What does it mean?”

Gaius looked back down at the shell and muttered, “Nothing good.”

“Where are you going?” she asked incredulously when the physician walked around her towards the door.

“I have to show this to Uther and let him know who we are dealing with.”

“Will it prove Gwen’s innocence?” she asked, smiling in relief when the old man nodded.

“I won’t be long, but I expect you to go and rest. Do you hear me?” Gaius glared when she went to protest and pointed towards her room before leaving to speak with the king.

“He’s crazy if he thinks that I will be able to sleep right now,” she said to Artie. In response, the dog walked around her and pushed at the back of her legs, making her stumble. “Artie!” she exclaimed and Artie barked as he continued to push her. Seeing where the dog was trying to lead her to, she grumbled but let him push her to her room.

“Fine, I’ll just lay down for a bit, but don’t be surprised when sleep doesn’t come,” she said as she settled down on the bed, sighing when she felt her body relax after no longer having to force herself to be upright. Artie jumped onto the bed, jostling her a bit as he laid beside her. “We really have to get you your own bed,” she mumbled as she felt her eyelids become heavier every time she blinked. “Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit and then we will go and see Gwen,” she said with a big yawn before closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

Merlin was jolted awake when her door was opened abruptly.

“What?” she said groggily as she shook her sleep addled head to clear it. Seeing Artie unaffected by the intrusion, Merlin looked up and frowned when she noticed Morgana standing by the door. “Morgana?”

“I came to tell you that Uther released Gwen,” the lady said excitedly. “I was just on my way to go see her, but I wasn’t aware if anyone had come to tell you.”

Merlin hurried out of bed, stumbling when her foot got caught on her blanket. “I’m okay,” she muttered when Artie looked at her from where he had been sleeping. “Is she out yet?” she asked Morgana as she reached for her cloak and followed the lady out of her room. She waited for Artie to catch up to them before they left the chambers and made their way to the dungeons.

“They are releasing her from the dungeons and I thought I would go see her before letting her go home to rest and be with her father. I would have let you rest as well, but I figured you would want to be there when she got out. Also it’s only fair that you get to be there since you are the reason we were able to prove her innocence.”

Merlin shook her head in denial. “It wasn’t just me. You and Arthur helped.”

Morgana stopped at the entryway to the stairway that led down to the dungeons and turned to face Merlin. “Yes, but if you hadn’t figured out what was causing the disease then we wouldn’t have been able to defeat that creature and found proof that Uther wouldn’t be able to deny.”

Before Merlin could refute the lady’s words, Morgana made her way down the stairs. Artie pushed against her and with a sigh, Merlin followed after the lady. She only had time to notice Gwen’s father before the guard was opening Gwen’s cell and allowed them to enter. Gwen’s father rushed inside the cell and gathered his only daughter in his arms.

“Dad!” Gwen cried out as she hugged her father tightly, smiling when she noticed Merlin and Morgana standing by the cell door. Merlin shared a beaming smile with Morgana as they watched Gwen and her father interact, Artie barking happily as he too moved towards Gwen.

Gwen laughed and knelt down to hug Artie. “Oh, I missed you too, boy.” Artie panted happily and tried to lick Gwen’s face as she laughed and pushed his head away.

“Artie!” Merlin called, laughing at the sight.

Gwen stood up and reached out to grasp Morgana’s hand and to give Merlin a quick hug. “Thank you so much. I don’t know how I could ever repay you,” she said as she pulled away, looking at both of them with gratitude clear on her face.

“You’re welcome, but it was really Merlin,” Morgana said still smiling widely as Merlin looked at her with wide eyes.

“Er, no I helped but it wasn’t just me,” Merlin was quick to state, but Gwen just ignored her and thanked Merlin again.

As the three women argued over who was responsible in getting Gwen released, Gwen’s father stood behind Gwen and placed his hands on her shoulders. With a tearful laugh, Gwen’s father interrupted and said, “Whoever it was, I will forever be grateful for your help in getting my Gwen out of here. We should get going, Gwen.”

“Of course, Father. Thank you again, Merlin. Now that I’m okay I fully expect you to get some rest. I heard that everyone that was sick is recovering, but they weren’t all running around like you were. Artie, you make sure she gets some rest.” Artie barked in answer and Gwen laughed as her father led her out of the cell. Merlin sighed and rolled her eyes when Artie looked at her disapprovingly.

“She does have a point,” Morgana said with a smirk as they left the cell and made their way out of the dungeons. They walked towards the Square together before stopping in the center. “I should head back to my chambers, but don’t be a stranger, Merlin. Come visit when you get the chance.”

Merlin smiled at the lady before bowing slightly. “Of course, my lady.”

Morgana glared teasingly at her as she struggled not to smile. With a shake of her head, the lady gave her farewells before they parted ways. Morgana going back to the comfort of her chambers and Merlin going back to hers.

“Lets hope Gaius had time to make dinner because I am starving,” Merlin said to Artie as they made their way up to the physician’s chambers. As they entered the room, Merlin sighed in bliss when she realized how warm it was inside. She hadn’t noticed how cold she was until she walked in.

Taking off her cloak, she was pleased to see that Gaius had been in the middle of preparing their dinner.

“Oh, Merlin, you’re right on time,” Gaius said as he carried their plates to the table. “This one’s for you, boy,” he said, bending down with a groan to set Artie’s plate on the floor, bones popping as he righted himself. Artie barked and hurried to his own plate, scarfing it down as Merlin went to take a seat.

“Thank you, Gaius.” Merlin picked up her fork and began to eat the fish the physician had prepared for them. As she took a bite a sudden thought occurred to her. “This fish didn't come from the contaminated water, did it?”

Gaius shook his head and said, “No it didn’t, but either way the water is fine now. Killing the Afanc destroyed the illness.”

“Oh, okay. That’s good then because I am parched,” she said as she reached for a goblet that had water inside and gulped it down.

“Easy there, child,” Gaius reprimanded as he tugged her hand with the goblet down. “We don’t want you making yourself sick right after you just recovered from the magical sickness.”

Merlin set the cup down and went back to eating her dinner. “So, is it finally over?” she asked, petting Artie’s head when he finished his own dinner. The dog licked her hand before flopping down onto the floor, waiting for her to finish her own food.

Gaius chuckled at the sight before growing serious. “For now I think we are safe, but I have a feeling that this is only the beginning. Camelot has just come under a very powerful sorcerer’s attention and I don’t think she’s going to finish anytime soon.”

Merlin frowned as she watched the worried physician. “Does it have anything to do with that mark on the shell we found?”

Gaius sighed. “Unfortunately. I can only hope that you didn't come to her attention as well.”

Merlin set down her fork and set a pale hand on one of Gaius’s and tried for a smile that she didn’t feel. “Don’t worry, Gaius. Nothing will happen to me. Don’t you know I have a destiny to fulfill? And even so, we can deal with anything that comes our way.”

Gaius huffed and took his hand back. “Finish your dinner,” he said gruffly and Merlin laughed as she picked up her fork again.

As she glanced over to one of the windows in the room, Merlin remembered that she still had to deal with Borin and what he knew, but as she enjoyed her dinner with Gaius and a sleeping Artie, she couldn’t help but push it behind her until after she had some rest.


End file.
